Treasury Section of Fine Arts (TSFA) Sites

Tempera mural entitled "The Choosing of the County Seat" painted in 1940 by John Van Koert.

New Deal mural "Neodesha's First Inhabitants" painted by Bernard J. Steffen in 1938

The historic post office in downtown New Castle, Delaware houses an example of New Deal artwork: the mural "William Penn Welcomed at New Castle," painted in 1938 by J. Scott Williams, was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

The historic post office building in New Concord, Ohio houses an example of New Deal artwork: "Skaters," an oil-on-canvas painting sponsored by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. The work was painted in 1940 by Clyde Singer.

New Deal mural entitled "Breaking the Colt" painted by Tom Savage in 1939 with funds provided by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

The mural "Great Men Came From the Hills," created for the historic New Lexington post office was sponsored by the federal Treasury Section of Fine Arts and completed in 1938.

The historic post office building in New London, Ohio houses an example of New Deal artwork: the mural “New London Facets” by Lloyd R. Ney. The work, completed in 1940, was commissioned by the federal Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

The New Rockford, North Dakota post office contains a Section of Fine Arts mural entitled "Advance Guard of the West," which was painted and completed in 1940 by Eduard Buk Ulreich. According to the project's contract (dated Dec. 1, 1939) the artist was to be paid $840 for his efforts. Mr. Ulreich was quoted as saying: "In choosing the subject matter for the New Rockford postoffice mural, it seemed appropriate to portray the Indians from whom the state derived its name. ... I feel that Americans should become more familiar with the beauty and character of the red man ... and it...

This Section of Fine Arts mural is titled "Early Mail Carriers of the West" and was painted by Rockwell Carey for the historic Newberg post office in 1937.

This mural "Economic Life in Newton in the Early 1940s" by Franklin and Mary Boggs was completed in 1942 with Section of Fine Arts funds.

The post office contains a 1938 Section of Fine Arts mural by Albert Pels entitled “Development of the State Normal School.” Normal IL is the home of Illinois State University, formally the Normal School, a school for the education of teachers. The work shows the process of teaching children and adults in reading, mathematics, and music with the student graduating to the right side and assuming work on the far right. The work is partially obscured by construction. Albert Pels was born in Cincinnati, OH and studied at the Cincinnati Art Academy, the Art Student’s League, Beaux Arts, and the American School....

The post office contains a 1942 Section of Fine Arts mural by Avery Johnson, “Purchase of Territory of North Bergen from the Indians."

"Indiana Farm - Sunday Afternoon" is a Section of Fine Arts mural completed by Alan Tompkins in 1938 for the North Manchester post office. The size of the mural is 9'6" x 4' and the medium is oil on canvas.

The oil-on-canvas mural entitled "Production" was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. The work, created for the historic post office in North St. Paul, Minnesota, was completed in 1941.

The historic post office building in Norwich, Connecticut houses an example of New Deal artwork: a Treasury Section of Fine Arts mural entitled "Taking Up Arms--1776," completed in 1940 by George Kanelous.

The historic post office in Nowata, Oklahoma houses New Deal artwork. The tempera mural, entitled "Rainbow Trail," was completed by Woodrow Crumbo and installed in the post office lobby in 1943, where it is still on display today.

The mural "Return of Annie Oakley"  by Paul C. Chapman was completed with New Deal funds in 1941.

"The post office "mural entitled 'Baling Hay in Holt County in the Early Days,' by Eugene Trentham is located on the south lobby wall above the postmaster's door which is flanked by wood framed, glass-enclosed bulletin boards. The oil-on-canvas mural which measures 11 by 4 feet, occupies the typical space for murals commissioned by the Treasury Department's Section of Fine Arts program in a Class C or D post office. The commission was awarded to Denver artist Eugene Trentham in October, 1937, and the completed mural was installed by the artist in May, 1938 (National Archives Record Group 121, Entry...

New Deal mural entitled "Air Express" painted by Harry Lane in 1939.

Robert F. Gates completed this tempera on canvas mural, entitled "Buckwheat Harvest," in 1942 with funds provided by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

Elise Seeds (Cavanna) painted "Air Mail" at the Oceanside CA Post Office. This 16' x 6' oil on canvas depicts a mail plane flying over a California landscape. For more on Elise Cavanna's work, see Dr. Film, Our Man and Cavanna.

This 5' x 14' oil on canvas entitled "Winter Sports" was painted for the post office by Edward Morton in 1938. "The Oconomowoc mural, which was taken off of the wall in the 1970's and stored in the basement of the post office, was in devastating condition when it arrived at the laboratory in 2003. The original adhesive used to adhere the mural to the wall was lead based, a common adhesive for artists of the time. While this adhesive is extremely strong, it is considered non-reversible. Much paint loss must have occurred during the removal process, due to the...

The mural "The Stampede" by Tom Lea was painted for the historic former post office building in Odessa, Texas. The work, which has since been relocated to the city's current post office, was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. A sign in the post office says that this mural was inspired by the song "Little Joe the Wrangler."

This oil-on-canvas mural entitled "Long Horns" was painted by Frank Mechau in 1938. "Painted in muted green, gray, and brown tones, the mural depicts a cowboy driving a herd of longhorns. The cattle occupy almost the entire foreground of the mural with crowded shapes that suggest the enormity of the herd. The artist utilized elongated shapes for the horse and cattle, particularly in the animals' heads which imparts a sense of motion. The cowboy is almost devoid of features which emphasizes the landscape and directs the viewer's gaze into the scene. The broad sweep of the landscape reinforces the sense of...

The post office contains a 1941 Section of Fine Arts mural "Grand Council of 1842" painted by Richard West. This work is a work having a rather flat perspective by West depicting the Grand Council of 1842, probably 1843 which was a peace treaty between multiple Indian Tribes and Texas. The treaty was signed in March of 1843 and subsequently a Grand Council of representatives of the Delawares, CAddoes, Wacos, Shawnees, Ionies, Anadarko, Tawakano, Wichitas, and Kichai. The treaty was signed and then completed in September at Bird’s Fort. Richard West was born near the Darlington Agency in Oklahoma, attended the Haskell...

Harold Egan's "The Richness of the Soil" was completed in 1939 for the Okolona, Mississippi post office. It was ordered painted over by the postmaster within days of its installation, for reasons that are not entirely clear, but most likely, related to the elements of modernism in the mural. Egan's work was not the typical realism or regionalism favored by the South in post office murals. Undocumented, but commonly accepted, reasons also include that the "female figure was too risqué for the 1930s" and that the "scantily clad woman was not well received." However, Mark Clinton Davis of the Pearl River...

The Section of Fine Arts sponsored a mural to be painted for the new Onawa, Iowa post office.  The work, entitled "Soil Erosion and Control," was painted by Lee Allen and installed in the post office in 1938.

"Trail to Oregon" painted by Edmond J. Fitzgerald in 1938. He also painted murals for the Colville WA and Preston Idaho post offices.

The oil-on-canvas mural "Trail to Oregon" was painted by Edmund J. Fitzgerald in 1938. Fitzgerald also painted murals for the Colville, Washington and Preston, Idaho post offices.

The oil-on-canvas mural "Upland Pastures" was painted for the historic Orange, Virginia post office by Arnold Friedman. The work was commissioned by the Treasury Department of Fine Arts.

This tempera-on-plaster mural "The Pioneer and Democracy" by David Cheskin was funded by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

The historic post office building in Orrville, Ohio houses an example of New Deal artwork: the mural "Judge Smith Orr and Robert Taggard Planning the New Settlement of Orrville," by Aldo Lazzarini. The work, completed in 1937, was commissioned by the federal Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

New Deal mural entitled "Arrival of the First Train" painted in 1936 by Byron B. Boyd. Excerpt from Osceola post office mural, information sheet: "The excited citizens of Osceola are hailing the arrival of the first train, a dramatic moment in the history of the town. In the center foreground is a pile of logs for construction of a building we see partially built on the right. On the left in the background is a stage coach, symbol of the pioneer days soon to be supplanted by the railroad. Boyd was born in Wichita, Kansas, in 1889. He graduated from Columbia University with...

The post office contains a Section of Fine Arts mural "Farm Life" painted by Robert E. Larter in 1940. This depicts 2 seasons of farm work with the man on the left chopping wood with a hat and coat, the man on the right feeding hogs, though the trees in the background have no leaves. Robert Larter studied at Choate School and Yale University school of Fine Arts. He taught art at Washburn, University from 1938. There is another mural by Larter in Philadelphia.

"At the end of May 1941 a custom made mural, executed in egg tempera, was hung in the Oxford Post Office. Mordi Gassner, a mural and portrait artist from New York was awarded a contract to paint a mural on (gesso primed) linen. The painting titled, "Family Reunion on Clark Island: Spring 1791", (probably refers to Cork or Packer Island), was his interpretation of an historic local event. It depicted the arrival of the (older) Blackman children coming from Unadilla, after an extremely difficult, two-day journey by ox-sled. In the painting, two young men, Elijah, Jr. and Jabez Blackman, along...

A large oil-on-canvas mural hangs at one end of the lobby of the Oxnard central post office on A Street. It was presumably commissioned by the Section on Fine Arts of the Treasury Department, which built the post office in 1939. The 3' x 18' mural, titled "Oxnard Panorama", was painted by Daniel Mendelowitz, a Stanford University art professor from 1934 to 1969.

The interior features a 1939 Section of Fine Arts oil-on-canvas mural by Amy Jones titled "Recording the Victory." Depicting a Revolutionary War scene, it is viewable in the Painted Post post office lobby.

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...

"Rural Mail Carrier" is a Section of Fine Arts mural completed by Tom Rost in 1939 for the Paoli post office. The size of the mural is 12' x 5'3" and the medium is oil on canvas.

The New Deal mural "Rural Arkansas" was painted for the historic Paris, Arkansas post office, where it still hangs today. "Joseph Vorst was commissioned for $740 to create this 4'x13' oil on canvas mural for Paris, Arkansas based on his winning entry in the 1939 48 States Competition. "The competition selected 48 winning artists to compose a mural for a each of the 48 continental states. Vorst's initial composition for Rural Arkansas was rejected due to the town's contention that it showed their community as both stereotyped and backward. Vorst thus redesigned his composition into the image that extolled the modern...