Treasury Section of Fine Arts (TSFA) Sites

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.

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.

The Hopewell post office contains a noted 1939 oil-on-canvas mural by Edmund Archer entitled "Captain Francis Eppes Making Friends with the Appomatox Indians."

"The Horton Post Office was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. The two murals on the Walls, "Picnic in Kansas" and "Changing of Horses for the Pony Express" were painted by Colorado artist, Kenneth Evett in 1938 and 1939 respectively. The latter is thought to be the only painting of the Pony Express in any Post Office in the United States."

The post office contains a 1941 Section of Fine Arts mural, "Post near Houston, Natchez Trace, 1803" by Byron Burford,Jr.

"Rural Delivery" Jaroslaw Brozik completed this oil on canvas mural for the Treasury Section of Fine Arts in 1941.

The historic post office building in Hubbard, Ohio houses an example of New Deal artwork, Hubert Mesibov’s painting, "Steel Industry for Hubbard." The work, one of 19 commissioned for northeastern Ohio post offices, was commissioned by the federal Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

“Threshing in Kansas” painted by Lumen Martin Winter in 1942. "Threshing in Kansas" Medium: oil on canvas

Elsa Jemne painted this egg-tempera-on-plaster fresco, entitled "The Hutchinson Singers," in 1942 with funds provided by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. It is viewable in the Hutchinson post office lobby.

New deal mural entitled "Preparation for the First County Fair in Ida Grove--1872" painted by Andrene J. Kauffman in 1940.

Robert Tabor painted this oil on canvas mural, entitled "Postman in Storm," in 1938 for the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. It is viewable in the post office library.  

Beulah Bettersworth's mural "White Gold in the Delta" was completed in 1939 for the Indianola post office under the auspices of the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. Bettersworth, who also completed a mural for the Columbus, Mississippi post office, was selected as a replacement for the commission awarded to Walter Anderson after his health prevented his ability to execute the Indianola mural.

The post office contains a 1937 Section of Fine Arts mural by Lucia Wiley entitled "Early Logging at Koochiching Falls."

The mural "Ipswich Tax Resistance—1687"was painted by Saul Levine with Treasury Section of Fine Arts in 1941. It hangs in the lobby of the historic Ipswich, Massachusetts post office.

This Section of Fine Arts mural, entitled "Cotton--From Field to Mill," was painted in 1940 by Philip Evergood, for the then-new Jackson post office at 132 S Mulberry St. It was moved to the retail lobby of the current post office building upon its relocation in 1995. Following alleged complaints regarding the content of the mural, it was covered with black plastic in August 2020 while its fate is determined (Jackson Progress-Argus).

The oil-on-canvas mural “Loading Cattle” by James Turnbull was painted in 1940 for what was then the Jackson post office. That building is now the Chamber of Commerce, and the mural now hangs in the new post office. The mural was funded by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. It is an excellent work of art with his use of cattle being loaded onto a cattle car, men on horses, and the train.  The intersecting and contrasting lines of the cattle car and the loading is particularly effective. This has an additional interesting story in that it was initially selected to be...

"Indiana Farming Scene in Late Autumn" is a Section of Fine Arts mural completed by Jessie Hull Mayer in 1939. The size of the mural is 11'4" x 4' and the medium is oil on canvas.