Murals Sites

The mural "The Pony Express Station" was completed with federal Treasury Section of Fine Arts funds and installed in the historic Lockhart post office in 1939.

The historic post office building in Long Beach, New York houses a New Deal mural commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts: "The Pleasures of the Bathing Beach," painted by Jon Corbino. The mural was installed in 1939.  

This mural "Rural East Texas" by Thomas M. Stell Jr. was completed with Treasury Section of Fine Arts funds in 1942.

The historic post office in Louisburg, North Carolina houses an example of New Deal artwork: "Tobacco Auction," by Richard Kenah. The work was commissioned by the federal Treasury Section of Fine Arts and completed in 1939.

The mural, "Crossroads," was installed in 1938. Karl Wolfe of Jackson, MS was one of only three Mississippi artists commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts for one of the 28 works installed in the state. He was paid $310 for the painting and installation (Black, 1998).

The post office in Louisville, Ohio houses a 1941 Section of Fine Arts mural by Herschel Levit entitled "Farm and Mill." The mural is tempera, 4 1/2 x 14 feet, 1941. “An explicit statement of the union of interests of the working class appears in Herschel Levit’s mural for Louisville. A Pennsylvania artist who has recently been recognized for his architectural photography, Levit portrayed large, muscular figures who smile and wave to each other as the industrial workers leave for the mill and the farmers attend to their chores.” The mural was painted for the old Louisville post office, but when the post...

Section of Fine Arts mural entitled "Industries around Loveland" painted by James Russell Sherman in 1938 for the downtown Valentine Station post office in Loveland, Colorado.

An oil-on-canvas mural entitled "The Uncovering of the Comstock Lode" was painted in 1940 by Ejnar Hansen and installed in the lobby of the Lovelock NV post office.  It is still in place today, reminding people of the immense role of the silver boom in the history of Nevada (and, indeed, the United States as a whole).

The historic post office in Lowell, Michigan houses an example of New Deal artwork: "Lumbering in Early Lowell," a tempera mural by Alfred Sessler.

The Luray post office mural, titled "Luray 1840," was painted by Sheffield Kagy in 1939. The work was commissioned by the U.S. Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

The historic Luverne, Alabama post office houses an example of New Deal artwork: "Cotton Field," a mural commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts, painted by Arthur Getz in 1942. Alabama Moments: "Getz received the commission for Luverne on the basis of designs he had submitted for a competition for the War Department building. As a northern artist he was warned by the Section when he proposed the theme of cotton: "It will be necessary for you to acquaint yourself thoroughly with the appearance of a cotton plant as the individuals using this post office will be especially observant on...

The historic Lynden post office contains a 1942 Section of Fine Arts mural by Mordi Gassner entitled Three Ages of Phoebe Goodell Judson. "In 1870, Judson co-founded the town of Lynden with her husband, Holden Allen Judson. She lived in the community until her death in 1926 at age 94. Just 2 months earlier, she had self-published a memoir, "A Pioneer’s Search for an Ideal Home." Murals depicting pioneer live and early European-American settlement were a popular subject for New Deal murals." (depts.washington.edu)

S. Douglass Crockwell painted "Signing of the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek" in 1944 with funding from the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. Crockwell, a commercial artist, "...departed from type and explored dark and emotive styling to depict a critical event in local history....The event...was critical to the formation of Macon as well as the larger area in Mississippi and Alabama" (Navarro). Medium: oil on canvas

The mural "Prairie Fire" was commissioned by the federal Treasury Section of Fine Arts. The tempera work was completed by Ethel Magafan and installed in the lobby of the historic Madill post office in 1941. It is still visible today.

Section of Fine Arts mural entitled "Gathering Seaweed from the Sound" painted in 1940 by William Abbott Cheever.

The historic post office in Madison, Florida houses an example of New Deal artwork: "Long Staple Cotton," an oil-on-canvas mural completed by George Snow Hill in 1937. The work was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. This mural, along with several others under the care of USPS, were covered following complaints about its content in Aug. 2020. Greene Publishing reported on the mural's getting covered with black plastic: The painting depicts workers preparing cotton to be bailed and shipped out. The painting pays tribute to the long staple cotton industry that was the economic engine that drove much of...

The Manchester, Iowa post office houses an example of New Deal artwork: "Iowa Farm Life," a mural painted by William E. Henning in 1938.

Minna Citron painted this mural, "Horse Swapping Day" in 1942; the project was funded by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

The historic Manheim post office houses an example of New Deal artwork: the 1938 Section of Fine Arts-funded oil painting titled "The First Orchestra in America" was painted by Theresa Bernstein. The artist can be seen in a 1993 video discussing the mural at the CUNY.edu link in the Source Notes below.

The historic post office in Manistique, Michigan houses an example of New Deal artwork: "Logging," an oil-on-canvas mural by David Fredenthal. The work was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

Section of Fine Arts mural entitled "Hunters, Red and White" painted by Archie Musick for the Manitou Springs post office in 1942. A plaque near the mural reads: "Depression-era public art programs coincided with the heyday of Colorado Springs' art school, the Broadmoor Art Academy: Its students and teachers painted murals in federal buildings nationwide. For Manitou's post office mural competition, my father, Archie Musick, depicted the legend of Manitou's springs: 'the God Manitou in a fit of rage clubbing a quarrelsome chief.' His frieze of Indian-trapper life across the bottom of the submitted sketch was so popular with 'the brass in...

This oil on canvas "Landscape at Frogtown" was painted for the Mannington post office by Richard Zoellner in 1942. It was a winner of the Treasury Section's 48-State Post Office Mural Competition.

This mural "Rural Life" was painted by Conrad Buff, the Swiss born Landscape Painter. Unfortunately, it is currently missing.

The mural "Contemporary Life in Missouri" was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts for the then-new Marceline post office. It was completed in 1938. This is a dramatic mural depicting the work in this area of northern Missouri with extensive mining operations shown on the left, smoke billowing from the works, a large slag heap in the far background as well as behind the miners.  Farming is shown in the center and to the right of the mural, though the stumps of corn have a look of devastation.  Harvesting and shocks of corn are shown in the center and...

The mural "Chicksaw Family Making Pah Sho Fah" was commissioned by the federal Treasury Section of Fine Arts. The work was completed and installed in the lobby of the historic Marietta post office in 1942. The mural was restored twice, once in 1960 and again in 2006.  

The oil-on-canvas mural "Cattle Days" was painted in 1942 by Lew E. Davis for the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. The mural hangs in the lobby of the historic post office in Marlow, Oklahoma. It shows four cowboys in a corral branding cattle. One is standing with a lasso and several cows. The other three are squatting down, holding a cow which is about to be branded.

"Pioneers Arriving in Marshall by Wagon Train" Henry Holmstrom painted this oil on canvas mural in 1938 for the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. It is viewable on the Marshall post office lobby.

The oil-on-canvas mural entitled "McLennan Looking for a Home" was painted by Jose Aceves in 1939. The work was funded by the Treasury Department Section of Fine Arts and still hangs in the lobby of the Mart, Texas post office.

The Martinez downtown post office contains an oil-on-canvas New Deal mural, "The Road to Eldorado" by noted California artists Edith Hamlin and Maynard Dixon. It was funded by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts in 1939. The subject matter of the mural appears to be a selection of early settlers of Martinez, with the city and the Carquinez Strait in the background (at the edges), including a Californio (Indian?), prospector and sailor on the left and a businessman and town women on the right, with a postal rider in the middle (in buckskin).  The title seems deftly ironic, but not critical. F0r...

"The Arrival of the Mail" is a Section of Fine Arts mural completed by Alan Tompkins  in 1937 for the Martinsville post office. The size of the mural is 16' x 5'6" and the medium is oil on canvas.

The Arrival of the Mail is a post office mural completed by Alan Tompkins in 1937. The mural is located in the city of Martinsville. The size of the mural is 16' x 5'6" and the medium is oil on canvas.

The historic post office in Marysville, Ohio houses an example of New Deal artwork: a fresco entitled "The Farmer." The Treasury Section of Fine Arts commissioned the work, which was created by James Egleson, which was completed and installed in the post office lobby in 1940.

The oil-on-canvas mural "General Lafayette is Welcomed at Friendship Hill By Mr. and Mrs. Albert Gallatin on May 27, 1825" was painted with federal Treasury Department funds and mounted in the lobby of the historic Masontown, Pennsylvania post office.

The current Maumee post office houses an example of New Deal artwork: "Communication," an oil-on-canvas mural commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. Created for the historic post office in the city, it has since been relocated to the current facility.

Oil on canvas entitled "Wisconsin Rural Scene" painted in 1940 by Peter Rotier. It depicts local farmer Maurice Ryan and his twin sons.

The McConnelsville post office houses an example of new Deal artwork: "Mail--the Connecting Link," an oil-on-canvas mural by Sally F. Haley. The 5' x 17' ork was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

This mural, "Early U.S. Post Village", painted by Karl Oberteuffer under the Treasury Section of Fine Arts, was completed in 1938. It was transferred to the new McKenzie post office building in 1988. Upon its installation, Oberteuffer wrote an acquaintance, "There were many who saw the mural, and all seemed to be pleased with it. All comments seemed to be favorable and the postmaster was obviously proud of it." (Tennessee Post Office Murals, p. 109)

The oil-on-canvas mural, "Golden Triangle of Trade," which hangs in the lobby of the historic branch post office in Medford, Massachusetts, was painted by Henry Billings in 1939. Often mistaken as a work created by the Works Progress Administration's Federal Art Project, the three-panel mural was actually commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts, a separate agency that commissioned 'decorations' for federal facilities. The mural is one of more than 1,000 pieces of art created for post offices and other federal buildings during the New Deal era. Concerns have perennially emerged in Medford about the content of the work, one of...

The 1940 mural "Clearing the Land," by Lorin Thompson, was a winner of the Treasury Section's 48-State Post Office Competition. The work was installed in the Mercer, Pennsylvania post office and is still visible today.

The historic post office building in Middleburgh, New York houses an example of New Deal artwork: "Dance of the Hop Pickers," an oil and tempera mural painted by Mary Earley and installed in the post office lobby in 1941. The work was sponsored by the federal Treasury Section of Fine Arts.