Norman Chamberlain Sites

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 oil-on-canvas mural "Land of Irrigation," by Norman Chamberlain, was installed at the Selma Post Office on March 24, 1938. Before beginning the piece, Chamberlain traveled to Selma to get a sense of the local community. Local newspaper editor Lowell Pratt Clark took him for a tour of the surrounding countryside, including a visit to a local peach cannery. The final work reflected the town's agricultural economy, in particular irrigated peach and grape production. Chamberlain was paid $1500 for the work.