Ivan Bartlett Sites

"Built in 1938-39, the Ada County Courthouse was constructed as part of the Depression-era Public Works Administration (PWA). Building the courthouse provided jobs not only for construction workers and craftsmen, but also for the artists that embellished it. The Art Deco style of the building is partly the result of using many workers who were not necessarily skilled in construction. The collaborative efforts of architectural firms Tourtellotte & Hummel and Wayland & Fennell resulted in a simple design characterized by geometric shapes, which were considered easier to build. The modern style and solid construction were also intended to communicate confidence...

Ivan Bartlett painted a mural, "Life of Washington Irving," at Washington Irving Junior High School (now Irving STEAM Magnet School) in Los Angeles, CA. Completed in 1936, the mural was funded by the Federal Art Project (FAP). Located in the auditorium's interior foyer, the mural depicts "characters and scenes from the works of American author Washington Irving, such as the headless horseman from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" (Dunitz, p. 105). Bartlett's other New Deal works in the region include a mural, "Industrial Activities in Long Beach" (1938), at Polytechnic High School in Long Beach, CA. He also assisted Norman Chamberlain with...

Ivan Bartlett and Jean Swiggett—alumni of Long Beach Polytechnic High School—completed this tempera fresco, entitled "Industrial Activities in Long Beach," in 1938/39, under the auspices of the WPA Federal Art Project (FAP). The mural, which wraps around an interior stairwell between buildings 300 and 400, measures 18 by 32 feet and depicts a crowded city scene of local people at work and play near the harbor.

The oil-on-canvas mural "History of California" is a seven-part mural spanning the large lobby of the historic Huntington Park Post Office. It was painted by Norman Chamberlain, assisted by Jean Swiggett and Ivan Bartlett, in 1937 with funding from the Treasury Relief Art Project (TRAP). "The scene of a racially integrated workforce on the south wall is noteworthy because this kind of depiction is rare in southern California New Deal murals" (Dunitz, p. 229).  

The Redondo Beach post office contains three oil on canvas murals by Paul Sample that were originally created for the since-demolished post office building at Catalina and Garnet street. The artwork relocated with the post office to its current location in 1977. The murals were painted in 1937 with TRAP funding. The murals depict "Sheep Farming and Ocean Near Redondo," "Excursion Train and Picknickers in the 90s" and "Fishing Redondo Dock".