Treasury Section of Fine Arts (TSFA) Sites

The Magnolia post office contains three murals by John H. Fyfe, completed and installed in 1939 at a cost of $1,120.00 (Enzweiler, 1993). Under the Treasury Department's Section of Fine Arts program, Fyfe created "July 4th Celebration" also referred to as "July 4th Celebration at Sheriff Bacof's" in other sources. The local committee commissioned two additional murals based on their satisfaction with the first piece of art. "Cotton Harvest" and "Magnolia, 1880" depicted the cotton industry of Pike County. All three murals were restored in 1992 by Stewart-Treviranus Associates of McLean, Virginia. Fyfe also painted a mural fro the post office...

Edwin Dorsey Doniphan painted two murals for this post office under the New Deal. One is entitled "Past Visions the Future" painted in 1939 by Edwin Dorsey Doniphan. The gentleman in the mural is Mr. Calvin Hill who passed away in 2005. His oxen's names are "Pat" and "Star". The old tannery can be seen in the foreground of the mural. Another is entitled "Mill Point" painted by Edwin Dorsey Doniphan in 1939. The mill still stands on US 219 just south of Marlinton.

The historic Miami Beach post office houses three New Deal murals depicting "Episodes from the History of Florida" painted in 1940 by WPA artist Charles Russell Hardman. (The federal agency that commissioned the works was the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.) "The lobby is a round and in the center is a fountain that appears to be inoperable. Above is an incredible light fixture with sun rays emanating from it against a brilliant teal background. The murals are positioned at the rear of the round space, so my photographs have a pretty funky perspective. Going from left to right, the first...

The post office contains three murals by Dorothea Tomlinson, completed with Treasury Section of Fine Arts funding in 1939. Each mural depicts a different aspect of Mount Pleasant in the forties.

The post office contains three murals by George Biddle painted in 1939 with Treasury Section of Fine Arts funds, each depicting a historical scene from the region: "George Washington with De Witt, Geographer of the Revolutionary Army" "Washington Retreating from New Brunswick" "Howe and Cornwallis Entering New Brunswick"

The historic post office in New Rochelle, New York contains three Section murals painted by David Hutchison in 1940. They are entitled "The Huguenots Lay the Foundtions fo the City of New Rochelle," "John Pell Receives Partial Payment for 6,000 Acres," and "The Post Rider Brings News of the Battle of Lexington."

The historic post office building in Norristown, Pennsylvania houses two New Deal murals: "Local Industry" and "U.S. Mail." The works, which were sponsored by the federal Treasury Section of Fine Arts, were painted by Paul Mays and installed in the post office lobby in 1936.

The historic Northfield post office houses examples of New Deal artwork: one full-size and three medallion murals painted by Charles M. Daugherty in 1939. The murals are respectively titled: "Skiers"; "Agriculture", "Granite", and "Maple Sugar".

Kindred McLeary painted five tempera-on-plaster murals for the Norwalk post office in 1941. The post office was renovated in 1963, leaving three murals "Present Products of South Norwalk;" "Past Products of South Norwalk;" and "Indians Instructing Pioneers in Forest Lore" in what is now the Postmaster's office (not generally accessible to the public). Two other murals—"Old Well," the largest of the original murals, and "Bays and Oyster Fishing"—were destroyed during the renovation.

"J. Theodore Johnson is best known for the four murals he created for the Oak Park post office in Chicago" (https://americanart.si.edu). The murals were funded by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts in 1939. Each depicts a historically significant moment in the area's history.

The Ontario post office contains a pair of complementary oil on canvas murals painted by Nellie G. Best in 1940 with funding from the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. In counterpart to "The Dream," "The Reality" depicts several men with shovels and other tools in an undeveloped California landscape.

This early 20th century post office contains two tempera murals by Anton Refregier. Painted under the aegis of the Treasury Section of Fine Arts, the murals "Folklore of America" and "Quilting Bee" were created in 1942: "The tempera murals are by Anton Refregier, a Russian whose art appeared at the 1939-40 New York World's Fair (a 30-foot mural in the WPA Building), the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art. "Folklore" depicts icons of America, such as Johnny Appleseed, Paul Bunyan and John Henry; "Quilting Bee" captures a sense of community as the women bend over their sewing...

The post office itself was started by the Treasury Department in 1932, but may have been completed with New Deal money. The post office contains two 1937 Section of Fine Arts murals by Henry Mattson entitled “The Rocky Coast of Maine” and “The Sea.” These 2 works flank an entrance to the post office, showing the roiling sea, gulls overhead and the rocky coast pictured in “The Sea”. “The Rocky Coast of Maine”, by contrast shows only the land dominated by rock with small shrubs and a lone pine, a work that has elements of abstraction in it. Henry Mattson was born in...

The Poughkeepsie post office has five large murals on the walls depicting local scenes from the 17th to 20th centuries.  Two horizontal murals at either end of the lower lobby are views of Poughkeepsie from across the Hudson in 1839 and 1940; those are by Georgina Klitgaard and Charles Rosen, respectively. On the mezzanine floor are three murals by Gerald Foster. One depicts Pilgrims and Indians on the site of Poughkeepsie in 1692. The second shows the hamlet of Poughkeepsie in 1730 (not shown here).   The third and largest one shows delegates from New York meeting in Dutchess County to ratify...

The post office contains three tempera murals painted by Archie Musick in 1941, titled "Loading Cattle," "Stockade Builders" and "Moving Westward." "Archie Musick, born in Kirksville, Missouri, was a student of Thomas Hart Benton and of Boardman Robinson. In the Red Cloud murals, his elongated forms in motion echo Benton's style rather than Musick's. Musick also completed other post office murals in Colorado and Missouri and in his later years, taught in Colorado. He said that his first two mural commissions were 'scenic pot-boilers on restaurant walls, (which) were happily destroyed by fire.' His first important mural was a 5' x 14'...

  John W. de Groot painted these three oil on canvas murals--"Battle of Little Raft Swamp," "Coming of the Scots," and "Peace--Work and Knowledge"--in 1941 for the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. They are viewable in the Red Springs post office lobby.

The Rhinebeck post office contains a series of twelve murals (plus those over the windows) depicting scenes from local history. The murals were painted by Olin Dows in 1940 with Treasury Section of Fine Arts funding.  Dows was a Rhinebeck resident , trained at Vassar College and head of the Treasury Relief Art Program – no doubt brought in by the request of President Roosevelt, who had taken a keen interest in the Rhinebeck post office near his home in Hyde Park.   The artist provided a thorough explanation of all the panels in a pamphlet published in 1940 by the Civic...

The historic New Deal post office in Rockville Centre, New York contains four oil-on-canvas murals by Victor White. The murals are made with cut-out shapes, and are approximately 9 ft. x 7 ft. 10 in. They depict, respectively: a farmer with livestock; a fisherman and wife; harvesting wheat; and carpenters framing a house. They were funded by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts in 1939.

This post office contains six tempera murals painted in 1942 by Seymour Fogel. Fogel painted these as the winner of one of the 48-State Competition Post Office murals. "In 1939, for example, Seymour Fogel sketched an elegant scene of Southwest Indian dancers for a post office mural in Safford, Arizona. Local Anglos harboring resentful memories of Apache raids, however, deemed Fogel's design an "abomination," and the artist substituted a stereotypical picture of wagon trains and pioneers." (muse.jhu.edu)

The post office contains two Section of Fine Arts murals by Gordon Samstag titled "Law and Order in Old Scarsdale" and "Caleb Heathcote Buys the Richbell Farm."

Construction of the historic post office building in Springfield, Ohio was begun in 1932, prior to the advent of the New Deal. However the building did receive, upon the time of its completion, two examples of New Deal artwork, commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts: “Printing in Springfield,” and a painting depicting the manufacture of farm implements. The works were created by H. H. Wessel and completed in 1937. Springfield Has History writes: "In the 1970’s the post office underwent an energy conservation remodeling which covered up Wessel’s murals and much of the interior’s original detail. In 2009 preservation efforts began to...

The post office contains a series of frescoes by artist Gustaf Dahlstrom. The murals were funded by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts in 1941. This large set of frescoes was executed by a master of the technique and depicted the rich history of St. Joseph, MO. Blacks are prominently represented, though it is primarily in stereotypical rolls of laborers and singing and dancing. There are some significant condition issues and partial repairs. Gustaf Dahlstrom was born in Gotland, Sweden and immigrated to the United States. He lived primarily in Chicago and worked at the Field Museum documenting wildlife displays.

The Tazewell post office contains two murals by William H. Calfee completed in 1940 with Treasury Section of Fine Arts funds.

The post office contains two Section of Fine Arts murals painted by Waldo Peirce in 1939. The murals are entitled "Rip Van Winkle" and "Legends of the Hudson."

The post office contains two sets of three murals each by Randall Davey. The murals were painted in 1941 with funding from the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. In these murals, Randall Davey portrayed the history of the Cherokee Nation in a highly sympathetic manner. This tribe, one of the “5 Civilized Tribes” had a troubled history including the forced move to Oklahoma on the “Trail of Tears”. Notes on display near the murals explain the historical basis of the works. (Some pictured below). Randall Davey was a major figure in American painting in the 20th century. He was born in New...

“In all, artwork was commissioned for 19 post offices in the Cleveland area. In 2006, only eight are still operational. In those eight, the artwork from the Depression era was still present, though almost all needed cleaning and modest restoration. These include Clarence Carter’s mural for Ravenna; John Csosz’s mural for Cleveland, University Center (newly restored); Richard Zoellner’s mural Ore Docks and Steel Mills for Cleveland’s Pearlbrook post office; Lloyd R. Ney’s painting New London Facets for New London; W. Bimel Kehm’s plaster relief Citizens for Struthers; Glen Shaw’s two stirring murals Romance of Steel, Old and Romance of Steel,...

The historic branch post office in West Allis, Wisconsin houses New Deal artwork: "Wisconsin Wild Flowers – Spring" and "Wisconsin Wild Flowers – Autumn," murals completed by Frances Foy in 1943. The works were commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

"In 1939 the Treasury Department’s Section of Fine Arts contracted Dohanos to paint six murals depicting the “Legend of James Edward Hamilton, Mail Carrier” in the West Palm Beach, Florida Post Office.  Hamilton was one of the “barefoot mailmen,” letter carriers who worked a remote stretch of rural Florida in the 1880s – a 68-mile roadless and part-by-boat route from Palm Beach to Miami, much of it by beach walking.  The round trip of 136 miles from Palm Beach to Miami and back took six days.  Hamilton mysteriously disappeared on the route, either drowned, taken by alligator, or some say,...

The post office originally contained two Section of Fine Arts murals painted by Roy Hilton in 1939. One mural, "The New Stagecoach," still hangs in the post office. The mural "Building of Westfield" was unfortunately destroyed during lobby renovations in 1964.

Artist F. Luis Mora painted "Arrival of the Renfro Family" and "Abundance of Today" in 1938 for what was then the Clarksville post office (now Federal Building). The two murals were placed in the lobby January 20, 1938 by the New York artist, assisted by Harry E. Brastead of the Southwest Decorating Company, Wichita, Kansas. Mora painted the murals in 4 months, and they were 12 feet by 5 feet each. Mora attributed the idea for the murals to reading the historical pageant of Clarksville, "Through the Mist of the Years" written by Rev. Arthur E. Whittle. One of the...

Section of Fine Arts plaster relief entitled "Means of Mail Transportation" created by Edouard Chassaing in 1937.

New Deal plaster relief entitled "Discovery of Northern Waters of the Mississippi" installed by Jefferson E. Greer in 1938.

The post office contains a Section of Fine Arts stone relief by Leopold F. Scholz: ""A Pioneer Woman's Bravery," a cast stone relief, 2' 7" x 6' 2 1/2" was sculpted by Leopold F. Scholz in 1940. Scholz (1877-1946) emigrated from Austria in 1916, having attended the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. In this scene, a pioneer woman, standing near a body of water, is using a boat hook to fend off an attack by bears while her four children hide behind her. His choice of a heroic woman pioneer was not uncommon in the post office art, which...

This Section of Fine Arts-funded walnut wood relief titled "Pennsylvania Farming" was carved by Roy King and installed in the post office lobby in 1937.

Wooden relief entitled "Morning Mail" created by artist Enid Bell in 1939. Originally in a historic post office building, the relief now hangs in Boonton's 1970s post office.

The post office in Campbell, Ohio houses an example of New Deal artwork: the terra cotta relief “Iron and Steel Industry” by Joseph Walter. The work, completed in 1941, was commissioned by the federal Treasury Section of Fine Arts for the then-new (and now former) post office building. It has since been relocated to Campbell's present post office building.

The historic post office building in Canton, New York houses an example of New Deal artwork: a Section of Fine Arts relief entitled "Stillman Foote Acquires Homestead of John Harrington," completed in 1939 by Berta Margoulies and installed in the post office lobby.

The post office in Chagrin Falls, Ohio houses an example of New Deal artwork. Created by Moissaye Marans, the work was commissioned by the federal Treasury Section of Fine Arts for the then-new post office in town. “In all, artwork was commissioned for 19 post offices in the Cleveland area. ... have been moved from their original locations. Three are in new post offices, including a wood carving, Stone Quarries, by Moissaye Marans in Chagrin Falls."

The historic Clarks Summit post office houses an example of New Deal artwork: "Communication by Mail," an aluminum relief sponsored by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. The work was created by artist Harry P. Camden in 1939.

The former Cliffside Park, New Jersey post office contained a 1938 Section of Fine Arts relief entitled “Rural Delivery” by Bruno Neri, then of Perth Amboy. The present status and location of the relief is unknown to Living New Deal. Bruno Neri was issued the $710 contract to create the relief on November 25, 1936; the contract was for: "Preliminary design, full size cartoon, labor, materials, scaffolding, etc., necessary for the designing, and finishing of a full size relief and its installation in the Post Office building at Cliffside Park, N.J." Final payment for the completed work was approved May 17,...