Historic New Deal Mural at Bronx High School Painted over during Renovations

Our contributors brought to our attention that the historic New Deal mural at the DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx was recently defaced and possibly damaged. A spokesperson from the New York City Department of Education said that the incident happened during roof repairs, when construction crews covered the mural in paint, and that they are looking into ways to restore the mural. Painted by Alfred Floegel between 1934 and 1940, the mural is titled Constellations and depicts the night sky on the ceiling of the third floor hallway. The mural covering the walls of the hallway, titled The History of the World, was not altered. Living New Deal Associate Frank da Cruz had documented the mural in its original condition and published the photographs on our website. The Associated Press covered the incident and interviewed the Living New Deal leadership team. For more details, see the stories published by the The New York Times, CNN, and NBC New York.