Helen K. Forbes Sites

This mural "Grizzly Bear and Cubs" was originally commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts for Monrovia's Ivy Avenue Post Office in 1940. "Helen Katherine Forbes, a California artist, was awarded a contract to paint a mural for the post office in Monrovia, California in 1940. She painted two murals for the lobby of the old Monrovia Post Office which hung there until 1964 when the post office underwent extensive renovation. The mural of the four cubs was rolled up and stored in the post office basement. Sadly, recent efforts to locate the other mural have been fruitless, and its...

"Deer," an egg tempera mural, was painted by Helen K. Forbes for the Susanville, California post office in 1939. The project was funded by the federal Treasury Department's Section of Fine Arts.

The historic post office and Federal Building in Merced, California houses multiple examples of New Deal artwork, among which is "Jedediah Smith Crossing the Merced River" a 6' x 8' tempera-on-plaster mural. The work, by Helen Forbes, was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

Murals by Dorothy Pucinelli and Helen Forbes adorn the interior of the Mothers Building at the SF Zoo which was originally built in 1925 as a refuge for mothers and their children. Pucinelli and Forbes used egg tempera to paint a four panel mural illustrating "Noah and his Ark-the Waters Subsiding and Renewal." The murals were painted in 1938 with Federal Art Project funds. From 1978 to 2002, the building served as the Zoo's gift shop, however the murals are currently deteriorating and, pending more funds for restoration, the building is only used for occasional events.