Murals Sites

The mural "Pelham Landscape," which hangs in the lobby of the historic post office in Pelham, Georgia, was completed with New Deal funds in 1941.

This post office houses a New Deal mural, "Hollanders Settle in Pella," depicting Pella's founder, Dominie Scholte, leading his people to Pella from the Netherlands. The mural was painted by Byron B. Boyd in 1938 with funds provided by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

The post office contains a Section of Fine Arts mural entitled "Loggers" painted by William F. Kaeser in 1939. The size of the mural is 12' x 5' and the medium is oil on canvas.

George Snow Hill (1898-1969) painted this oil on canvas mural for the Treasury Section of Fine Arts in 1938. "The panel honors the mostly African American laborers who contributed to the local lumber industry." (visitflorida.com) The mural, entitled "Cypress Logging." has since been restored and moved to the new Perry post office. It can be seen above the customer service counter.

This oil-on-canvas mural in the lobby at the Peterborough, New Hampshire post office entitled “New England Post in Winter” was completed in 1938 by Marguerite Zorach. Primarily a textile artist, Zorach was an earlier innovator in the American modernist movement. Her work appeared in the 1913 Armory Show. She also completed two New Deal post office murals in Fresno, CA. Ms. Zorach received $550 for her efforts, according to the project's contract dated May 1, 1937. Postmaster Martin J. Keenan wrote on Jan. 6, 1938 that the mural had "been satisfactorily installed, and is considered a real asset to our new...

"Lumber Region of Mississippi" was painted by Donald H. Robertson in 1940 under the auspices of the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. The mural was painted over in the 1970s.

Dan Rhodes completed this oil-on-canvas mural, entitled "Air Mail," in 1941 with funds provided by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. It is viewable in the Piggott post office lobby. The mural was featured on a sheet of U.S. postage stamps: "Post Office Murals." The First-Day ceremony for the stamps was held in front of the Piggott post office on April 10, 2019. "Air Mail" was fully restored and touched up in anticipation of the event. UCA.edu: "Daniel Rhodes was commissioned for $700 to create a mural for Piggott, Arkansas, only after the original artist, Loyle Houser, did not perform in a...

Edward Fern painted this oil on canvas mural in 1942, entitled "Kentucky Mountain Mail En Route," for the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. It is viewable in the lobby of the Pineville post office.

The historic post office in Pittsfield, Illinois houses an example of New Deal artwork: a mural entitled "Champ Clark Bridge," sponsored by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

The post office contains a 1939 Section of Fine Arts mural "Back Home, April 1865" painted by Tom Lea. Although unpleasant subjects and memories are seldom seen in Post Office murals, the scene depicted is that of four people returning to their devastated land on a gray day in April, 1865 at the conclusion of the Civil War after having been forced off of their land as a result of Order Number Eleven which was a Union Army directive by General Thomas Ewing, issued on August 25, 1863, 4 days after a massacre by Quantrill’s raiders in Lawrence, KS.  The order...

The fresco secco painting titled "First Post Rider of Plymouth," installed above the Postmaster's door in the Plymouth, New Hampshire post office lobby, was painted by R. Crawford Livingston.  According to the contract dated June 25, 1937 the artist received $660 for his efforts.  The mural, which measures 13' wide by 3'10" high, was completed in early 1938. The mural was described in one local newspaper as depicting "the first arrival of mail pouches by pony express in a rural settlement of the colonial period. ... The talented young artist's work has provoked much favorable comment for its universal outlook and...

A 1938 Section of Fine Arts-funded mural titled “Meal Time with the Early Coal Miners” was painted by Jared French and hangs in lobby of the historic Plymouth post office.

Tempera mural entitled "Making Cheese" painted by Charles W. Thwaites in 1942.

Medium: oil on canvas   "The Wedding of Ortez and SaOwana--Christmas 1540 was painted by Joseph Pollet and completed and installed in 1939. The mural depicts the feast given by Spanish explorer Hernando DeSoto to honor the first recorded Christian marriage in North American, which took place near Pontotoc (Sanders & Cawthon, 1993).  

The historic Portales post office houses an example of New Deal artwork: a 1938 Section of Fine Arts mural by Theodore Van Soelen entitled "Buffalo Range."

This oil-on-canvas Section of Fine Arts mural entitled “Shade Grown Tobacco” was painted in 1942 by Austin Mecklem. Shade grown tobacco was an important Connecticut crop in the first part of the twentieth century, most often used as binding wrapper for high quality cigars. "The Connecticut River valley between Portland, CT, and Brattleboro, VT, became known as “Tobacco Valley” in the early 1900’s, when as much as 38,000 acres were under cultivation. Today, about 2,500 acres of tobacco are grown and harvested in the state." (North Central News)

The post office contains a 1940 Treasury Section mural "Cotton" painted by Joan Cunningham. The image is a multi-scene view of cotton production that shows a large number of people involved in various aspects of production and shipping, the emphasis is on cotton, reputedly also about the domination of man on the land. Little is known about Joan Cunningham.

The historic Powell post office houses an example of New Deal artwork: the mural entitled "Powell's Agriculture Resulting from the Shoshone Irrigation Project," painted by Verona Burkhard in 1938. Annals of Wyoming: The mural in the Powell post office was completed in December, 1938, the work of a professional artist who had done similar work for post offices in Montana and North Carolina, and who had shown her work in various art exhibitions. Verona Burkhard received the Powell commission on the basis of designs she had submitted in the Dallas, Texas, post office competition. Trained in the east and from a family...

The Post Office in Preston, Idaho, features a New Deal mural painted by Edmond J. Fitzgerald. The oil-on-canvas mural is entitled "The Battle of Bear River". It memorializes a notorious massacre of Shoshone people by a group of "California Volunteers" in Franklin County in 1863. The mural was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts and hung in the post office in 1941. Fitzgerald also painted murals for the Ontario Oregon and Colville Washington post offices. The post office has a helpful information sheet on the mural and New Deal work in the town of Preston.

This mural "Kentucky Tobacco Field" by Robert C. Purdy was completed with Section of Fine Arts funds in 1938.

Prosser's historic post office contains a 1937 Section of Fine Arts mural by Ernest Norling entitled "Mail Train in the '80s". "According to the 1991 National Register of Historic Places nomination form for the Prosser Post Office,  'The lobby of the Prosser MPO contains a mural entitled "Mail Train in the 80's. Painted by Ernest Norling in 1937 at a cost of $550, the mural is oil on canvas (approximately 6 feet by 14 feet) and glued to the wall over the postmaster's door. The mural depicts the activity on the Northern Pacific's depot platform, while a smoke-belching steam engine and...

This dramatic New Deal mural was painted by Fred Conway in 1940. It was one of the winners of the Treasury Section's 48-State Competition Post Office Murals. Interestingly, this mural was initially slated to go into the Jackson, MO PO, but the Jackson townspeople wanted a more modern representation for their PO and this was then sent to Purcell.  The artist Fred Conway is from St. Louis.

The mural "The Naming of Quanah," by Jerry Bywaters, was completed with Treasury Section of Fine Arts funds in 1938.

"The Crossroads Town" was painted by Emil Bisttram, a Hungarian-born New Mexico artist who served as the New Mexico supervisor of the first federal art project (PWAP) (Flynn, 2012). "Even the most peaceful scene--the townscape in the Ranger, Texas, Post Office, from 1939--has a story to tell. The artist found Ranger a virtual ghost town but gave hope to the former boomtown with a picture of the clean, prosperous place it could once again become. Hope on the wall, for a mere $880 (the artist's unprincely fee!)" (Marling, 2004).

The historic post office in Ravenna, Ohio houses one of many examples of New Deal artwork commissioned for northeastern Ohio post offices. The mural "Early Ravenna," by Clarence Carter, was commissioned by the federal Treasury Section of Fine Arts. It was completed in 1936.

"LaSalle's Quest for the Mississippi" was painted in 1939 by Elsie Driggs and "...depicts the story of LaSalle's travels just before he discovered the mouth of the Mississippi" (Kimmerle, 2008, p. 37). Driggs painted primarily in the Precisionist style, although "she adjusted...in order to make the mural more suitable as a work of public art using a more narrative composition" in the post office mural (Fine Lines, 2009, p. 9). Driggs began the study in 1936 as a watercolor on paper, and the completed work was hung in Rayville in 1939.

This mural "Flower Farming and Vegetable Raising" by Jose Moya del Pino was completed in 1937 with Treasury Section of Fine Arts funds.

Boris Deutsch was a Lithuanian immigrant. His oil-on-canvas mural "Grape Pickers" depicts a busy grape harvest. The work, which hangs in Reedley, California's historic post office building, was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

Oil on canvas entitled "Dairy Farming" painted by Richard Jansen in 1940.

The historic Rehoboth Beach post office houses an example of New Deal artwork: "Frontier Mail," a mural painted by Karl Knaths in 1940. The work was commissioned by the federal Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

The oil-on-canvas mural "Locomotive Repair Operation" was painted as a federal Treasury Department Section of Fine Arts project by Harold Lehman. The work was installed in the lobby of the then-new Renovo post office in 1943.

"Receiving the Mail on the Farm" is a Section of Fine Arts mural completed by John E. Costigan in 1939 for the Rensselaer post office. The size of the mural is 12' x 4' and the medium is oil on canvas.

The historic Revere post office contains a 1939 Section of Fine Arts mural titled "The First Store and Tavern." The work, painted by Ross E. Moffett, was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

Oil on canvas entitled "Rural Delivery" painted by Forrest Flower in 1938.

The historic post office building in Richfield Springs, New York features a 1942 Section of Fine Arts mural in the lobby. The mural, painted by John W. Taylor, depicts a local landscape.

The historic post office in Richland Cetner, Wisconsin houses an example of New Deal artwork: an oil-on-canvas mural entitled "Decorative Interpretation of Unification of America through the Post," painted in 1937 by Richard Brooks.

An oil on canvas mural, "Richmond - Industrial City," by Victor Arnautoff was installed in the Richmond Post Office in April 1941.  It was funded by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts program.  The mural disappeared for years and was only recently rediscovered and moved to the Richmond Museum of History. It has not been restored as yet and is unavailable for public viewing as of 2019.  In 1976, the interior of the Richmond post office was completely renovated and the mural was removed by art conservator Nathan Zakheim, the son of another renowned New Deal artist, Bernard Zakheim.  But it was then...

The Ridgefield Park post office contains a historic New Deal mural: "Washington Bridge," painted by Thomas Donnelly in 1937. The work was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.

Located in the post office in Rifle, Colorado.  Section of Fine Arts mural entitled "Colorado Landscape" painted for the Rifle post office by George Vander Sluis in 1942.

This mural, "Autumn" was completed with New Deal funds in 1940.