James Penney Sites

The mural "Memories of Marion County" is a compilation of scenes from Marion County including a flood scene (on the left), slaves escaping to Illinois (on the right), and Tom, Huck, and Jim on the raft (in the middle).  The Mississippi River dominates Marion County, though Palmyra is inland several miles. The mural by James Penney was funded by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. James Penney was born in St. Joseph, MO and studied art at the University of Kansas, then studied at the Art Students League in New York.  He later became the Vice President of the Art Students...

This Treasury Section of Fine Arts mural by James Penney entitled "Aspects of Rural Missouri" was painted for the old Union MO post office building in 1941. The mural was recently restored and moved to this new post office building. This is a typical mural scene from rural Missouri showing a farmer tending to his mules(probably Missouri Mules), a disc in the foreground, cattle and a large haystack in the center and a hunter on the right. James Penney was born in St. Joseph, MO and studied art at the University of Kansas, then studied at the Art Students League in New...