Arts Programs Sites

A Treasury Section of Fine Arts mural entitled "Building the New Road" was painted by Kenneth Evett in 1941 for the Golden post office (now the Downtown Station post office). The mural is still in place and in good shape.  The florescent lighting on it is unfortunate, but there is a very well done display beneath it on the construction of the building.

A Section of Fine Arts oil-on-canvas mural entitled "Rural Free Delivery" was painted by Kenneth M. Adams. The mural was installed in the then-new Goodland, Kansas post office in 1937. The artist also painted the mural for the New Deal post office in Deming, NM.

The historic post office building in Goshen, New York contains a 1937 Section of Fine Arts mural by Georgina Klitgaard entitled "The Hambletonian Stake." The mural depicts a harness race at the town's historic racetrack.

James Calder painted the oil-on-canvas mural "Waiting for the Mail" in 1938 for the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. The mural hangs in the lobby of the historic Grand Lodge, Michigan post office.

The post office contains a 1938 Section of Fine Arts mural by Wendell Jones entitled "First Pulpit in Granville." Granville is the home of Denison University and was the first Baptist College west of the Allegheny Mountains. The mural emphasizes the religious prominence in early Granville. The work is reminiscent of the work of Edward Hicks. The rounded upper margins is unusual, following the architecture of the upper walls. Wendell Jones was born in Galena KS served in WW I and after the war graduated from Dartmouth College and studied at the Student’s Art League in New York with Allan Tucker and...

The historic post office in Grayling, Michigan houses an example of New Deal artwork: "The Lumber Camp" by Robert L. Lepper. The work was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

This mural panel: "Source of Power" — reportedly the only surviving panel of an original set of six — was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

"Lumbering" John Thwaites painted this oil on canvas mural in 1940 for the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. It is viewable in the Greenville post office lobby.

Stuart R. Purser painted "Steamboats on the Mississippi" in 1939 with funding from the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. "It has been moved to the "new" Finance Station Post Office which is in the old train depot downtown. Hurricane Katrina forced the closure of the original 1930's post office a few blocks away."

The fresco "Chuck Wagon Serenade" was painted by Manuel A. Bromberg in 1940. It was a winner of the Treasury Section's 48-State Post Office Mural Competition. Annals of Wyoming: In June, 1939, the Treasury Section conducted a national competition from which 48 paintings were selected, one for a post office commission in each of the states. The December 4th issue of Life magazine carried a brief story on the contest and reproduced the 48 winning designs. Manuel Bromberg's painting, "Chuck Wagon Serenade," was picked for Wyoming's new post office in Greybull; Bromberg, a 22-year-old artist studying at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts...

This Treasury Section of Fine Arts mural, entitled “The Wealth of the West,” was painted for the Gunnison post office by Ila Turner McAfee in 1940.

Oil on canvas entitled "Where Kit Carson Camped" painted by Birger Sandzen in 1941.

William E. L. Bunn painted this oil on canvas mural, entitled "Peony Festival at Hamburg," in 1941 with funds provided by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. "The original mural was destroyed during renovations in the 70s. In 1999, Tony Rajer's art class at the University of Wisconsin painted a replica for the new post office." (newdealartregistry.org) It is viewable in the lobby.

This mural entitled “On the River” by Edmund D. Lewandowski was painted in 1941. It was one of the 48-State post office mural competition winners. The title for this mural is mistakenly listed as "Threshing Grain" in several sources. It is thought that an initial sketch was of a threshing grain scene. Medium: oil on canvas

The historic post office building in Hamilton, Montana houses an oil-on-canvas mural entitled "Flat Head War Party" by artist Henry Meloy. It is one of only six New Deal murals in Montana post offices. The federal Treasury Department Section of Fine Arts funded the work, which was installed in 1942. The subject matter of the Meloy mural is a bit unusual: the formation of a "war party" of Shoshone preparing to go fight Blackfeet intruders. It depicts the natives as strong, fighting men, but why the White observer? The information sheet by the mural explains that such internecine warfare among tribes was...

This fresco secco mural "Texas Rangers in Camp" by Ward Lockwood was completed with Treasury Section of Fine Arts funds in 1942.

The historic post office in Hardinsburg, Kentucky houses an example of new Deal artwork: "Kentucky Homestead," a Section of Fine Arts commission. It was completed and installed in the post office lobby in 1942.

Richard Gates painted this oil on canvas mural, entitled "The Farmer Feeding Industry,"  in 1937 with funds provided by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

Treasury funded wax tempera mural entitled "Men Hoeing" painted in 1941 by Eve Salisbury.

The lobby of the historic post office in Harrison, New York features a New Deal Section of Fine Arts mural entitled "Early Days of the Automobile," which was painted in 1941 by Harold Goodwin.

In 1940, Ruth Grotenrath painted this lush scene, highlighting the local dairy cows and horses, through the Treasury Relief Art Project (TRAP).

Treasury Section of Fine Arts mural entitled "A Letter" painted by Orlin E. Clayton in 1939.

The historic post office in Hastings, Minnesota houses an example of New Deal artwork: a Section of Fine Arts-commissioned mural entitled "Arrival of Fall Catalogue." The work, by Richard Haines, was completed in 1938.

John Sharp painted this oil on canvas mural, entitled "Hunters," in 1942 with funds provided by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. It is viewable in the Hawarden post office lobby. An Iowa native, Sharp was inspired by other local artists, like Grant Wood. "Hunters" was his third and last mural painted for the federal government during the Great Depression.

The oil-on-canvas mural “Agriculture and Industry in Claiborne Parish” was painted by Joseph Pistey, Jr. in 1939. The work was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

This 5' x 10' oil on canvas mural "Rural Landscape" painted by Tom Lewis for the Treasury Section of Fine Arts in 1938, still decorates the Hayward post office.

The post office contains a Section of Fine Arts mural entitled "The Land of Woods and Lakes" by Stella E. Harlos. Medium: Oil on canvas

The post office contains a Treasury Section of Fine Arts mural "Life in the Mississippi Cotton Belt," painted by Auriel Bessemer in 1939 and installed in the Hazlehurst post office that same year. Bessemer was the son of Hungarian immigrants (Boszormenyi Family Tree). His accomplishments included work with the Gallery of Modern Masters in Washington and the American Museum of Natural History in New York (Enzweiler, 1992). Bessemer's painting represented the Copiah County diversified economy of an earlier time: cotton industry and manufacturing (Nelson-Easley, 2007), possibly the nearby Wesson Mills. Like many of the murals under the program, it could be...

The oil-on-canvas mural "Stampeding Buffaloes Stopping the Train" was painted by Eldora Lorenzini in 1939. "Eldora Lorenzini studied at the Colorado Springs Fine Art Center. She matched the color of the buffalo hides to the wood framing the doorway to the postmaster's office, making the mural a part of the endwall of the lobby. She did other murals in Colorado and Washington, D.C. and worked as a decorator, printmaker, and illustrator. In Nebraska, a commission for painting a mural in a post office ranged from $570.00 to $1,300. Eldora received $670.00 for this mural. She lived at the YWCA until she...

The mural "Western Town" by Jenne Magafan was painted in 1941 under the Treasury Section of Fine Arts and was a winner of the Treasury Section's 48-State Post Office mural competition. The mural is 25.5 x 43.5 feet and painted with oil-on-fiberboard.   It sits at the south end of the post office lobby and remains in pristine condition. 

New Deal mural entitled "Arrival of the First Train in Herington--1885" painted by H. Louis Freund in 1937. Medium: oil on canvas Size: 11' x 5'

"The mural in the photo above, titled “George Rogers Clark Confers with the Indians Near Herrin, Illinois” was painted by Gustaf Dalstrom and installed in the Herrin post office originally on May 27, 1940.  It was rededicated May 26, 2011, after a 47-year absence. In 1964 the lobby was renovated, and the mural was noted as being destroyed during the project.  The assistant postmaster at the time, Paul Popham (now deceased), salvaged the mural from the dumpster, however.  As there seemed to be little community interest in the mural, Paul's son, Tom Popham, took the mural with him when he...

William E. L. Bunn painted the mural "Mississippi Packets" for the lobby of the Hickman post office in 1940; the work was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

The post office contains a 1942 Section of Fine Arts mural painted by Jac T. Bowen entitled "Industrial Activity in the City." This is a brightly colored image incorporating local manufacturing concerns. In contrast to many murals, the emphasis is on the machines with the people working on the machines, but the focus is on the different types and size of the machines, particularly the generator in the middle of the mural. Bowen explained his mural: “Work made the town—work is building the town—and work will be the theme of their future; the song of their machines, their minds and their hands”. He...

The historic Hobart, Indiana post office houses an example of New Deal artwork: "Early Hobart," a 12-by-five-foot oil-on-canvas mural completed by William  A. Dolwick in 1938. The work was commissioned by the federal Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

The mural "Hodgen's Mill" was commissioned by the federal Treasury Section of Fine Arts. It was installed in Hodgenville's historic post office during the Great Depression and has resided there ever since.

The historic post office in Hoisington, Kansas houses an example of New Deal artwork: a Treasury Section of Fine Arts-commissioned oil-on-canvas mural entitled "Wheat Center." The 12' x 5' mural was painted by Dorothea Tomlinson and completed in 1938.

The historic post office in Hollis, Oklahoma houses a New Deal mural entitled "Planning the Route," commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. The Lloyd Goff work was completed and installed in the lobby of the post office in 1941, where it's still visible today.

The historic post office building in Homer, New York houses an example of New Deal artwork: a Section of Fine Arts mural entitled "Albany Street Bridge," painted in 1940 by Rank Romanelli.

The historic post office building in Honeoye Falls, New York houses an example of New Deal artwork: a Section of Fine Arts mural entitled "The Life of the Senecas," which was painted in 1942 by Stuart Edie.