Murals Sites

Four fresco panels entitled "The Voice of the Earth", "The Voice of the Sky", "The Voice of the Sipophe", and "The Voice of the Water" were painted by artist Will Shuster in the patio of the New Mexico Museum of Art under the Public Works Art Project. Indian artist Velino Shije Herrera (a.k.a Ma Pe Wi) trained in fresco in order to help execute the project. The patio murals one of several New Deal arts projects completed by Shuster with federal funding. Shuster initially proposed completing a series of portraits of prominent local Indian artists and craftspeople, but the federal...

Title: "Polo Ponies" "s part of the Works Project Administration, created a polo mural that currently hangs in the Santa Fe State Capitol passageway between the Capitol and its Annex. It is on a long term loan from the New Mexico National Guard. This mural may have been planned to be placed at the New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell but actually started out at the state's Horse Calvary Unit in Albuquerque before being moved to the Military Museum (the New Deal built Armory) in Santa Fe."   (Flynn) Medium: oil on canvas Size: tryptich Restoration Info: Restored 2007

“Cotton Industry and Farming” Medium: fresco “In 1934 Olive Rush, under WPA/FAP, decorated the dome-shaped entrance to the biology building with a fresco. Themes are the history of the development of plant and animal life from earliest beginnings on through to more complicated life forms, with special attention given to local flora and fauna. The cotton industry and farming, which flourished at the time, are also represented. One can hope that public interest will see that professional conservation restores the fresco to its original state. Latest decisions about restoring this fresco can be obtained at the President’s Office on campus.” -Treasures on New Mexico...

"Natural History of Plant and Animal Life" Medium: fresco

"Tom Lea, currently a resident of El Paso, created two fifteen-foot panels which are housed in this gallery on campus. They depict scenes from New Mexico's colorful history from 1599 to 1870. 'Conquistadors' presents the Spanish conquest and late historical developments in the area while 'La Mesilla' deals with the two main industries at the time: agriculture and ranching. Also included are scenes from events in the Mexican War, Apache raids and the acquisition of La Mesilla as a part of the United States via the Gadsen Purchase. Lea Researched his material in Santa Fe using documents from the...

An unknown artist painted this oil on canvas mural, located in Room M284 of New Trier High School, in 1937 with funding from the WPA Federal Art Project. The mural measures 8' by 8'6".

In March 1939, the school received notification that the Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) had awarded a grant that would pay for three murals for the school’s new auditorium. John Martin Socha was chosen as the artist. The selected scenes, drawn from regional history, included the treaty of Traverse de Sioux, the battle of New Ulm, and a third mural depicting the “progress of industry in New Ulm.” The New Ulm murals reflect the influence of Diego Rivera, whom Socha studied under in Mexico.

"In 1936, under the Works Progress Administration, the artist Abram Champanier created a series of murals for the children's ward . Champanier had done large commercial murals in the 20's for the Roxy Theater in New York and the Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach, among other works. For the hospital, he painted 16 panels on the theme of "Alice in Wonderland in New York." The oil-on-canvas murals are all seven feet high, but of varying widths. After the first panel, "Alice Steps Out of a Book," they cover subjects like "Alice Flies Over the East River Bridges" and "Alice and Her...

The McGraw Rotunda of the 5th Ave. library building contains a set of WPA murals: "It features The Story of the Recorded Word, a set of four large arched panels by Edward Laning, were executed for the McGraw Rotunda of the New York Public Library Main Branch from 1938 to 1942 as part of a Works Progress Admistration (WPA) Project, with supplies furnished by Isaac Phelps Stokes, author of the Iconography of Manhattan Island. Laning depicted the story of the recorded word across each of the murals. The first mural, to the left of the entrance to the Catalog Room, Moses...

This building, formerly known as the New York County Courthouse, contains several large New Deal murals created by a variety of artists, begun under the Public Works of Art Program (PWAP) in 1934 and continued under the WPA's Federal Art Project. Most of the murals were painted by Attilio Pusterla with the help of several assistants. The vestibule ceiling contains brightly painted murals by Pusterla and his assistants painted in a "grand Italian decorative style" (nytimes). The subject of these murals is the administration of justice, and the murals depict many allegorical figures representing Truth, Error, Protection, Security, Army and Navy among...

This building, formerly known as the New York County Courthouse, contains several large WPA murals. Most of the murals, including those in the vestibule and rotunda, were painted by Attilio Pusterla with the help of several assistants. Jury room 448, however, contains a series of 11 paintings by Robert K. Ryland depicting historical New York scenes. The subjects include Henry Hudson's ship, the Half-Moon; an early Indian settlement; Broad Street around 1660, and two panoramas of the city in the 18th century.

Two twelve-by-six-foot murals were painted by Mr. and Mrs. William Herbert Holston for the Newark Terminal (Administration Building) of 1935 under the auspices of the Federal Art Project (FAP) of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The murals, shown in a contemporary WPA photograph, have been lost or destroyed. According to Newark's Star-Eagle: The first mural depicts Leonardo da Vinci gazing into space with his left hand raised, attempting to solve the mystery of flight. Seated at a table to his left is his student, Astro, head bowed, wearing useless wings. The second mural shows the "Kitty Hawk" in successful flight 40 years later ... Both murals combine...

"Between 1935 and 1937, Gorky painted ten large-scale murals on the theme of  aviation for the Newark Airport Administration Building. This mural cycle, known as Aviation: Evolution of Forms under Aerodynamic Limitations, was among the first modernist murals created and installed under the aegis of the Works Progress Administration's (WPA) Federal Art Project. Although still engaged with the Cubist vocabulary of Picasso and Braque, the mechanized forms of these murals also reveal a debt to the work of Fernand Léger, especially his monumental 1919 painting The City, now in the Museum's collection. Léger's urban, machine-inspired imagery and vivid colors...

Michael Lenson painted "History of Newark" with funding from the WPA Federal Art Project. It consists of 8 panels, each approx 6' h x 4' w. The New York Times wrote the following in 2003 in a retrospective article of New Jersey-based artist Michael Lenson: " moved to Newark and applied at the W.P.A. office on Halsey Street ... Soon, Mr. Lenson was designing and executing murals for the state W.P.A. program. He went on to become assistant state supervisor in charge of the other muralists in the agency. By the time the federal W.P.A. closed in 1943, Mr. Lenson had created six...

The four panels that make up "TVA Power" by Minna Citron were produced with the help of Treasury Section of Fine Arts funds and were moved from the old Post Office to the Museum in the 1970s.

The Federal Art Project (FAP) funded artist, Jaine Ahring, to create two murals for Newport Elementary School. Ahring created the oil-on-canvas murals Alice in Wonderland and Mother Goose in 1937. In The New Deal in Orange County, California (The History Press, 2014), Charles Epting writes, “Given the scarcity of New Deal public art in Orange County, Ahring’s paintings are quite remarkable” (p. 38). Alice in Wonderland depicts various characters from Lewis Carroll’s novel such as the Cheshire Cat and the Mad Hatter. Mother Goose depicts characters from tales such as the Cat and the Fiddle and Miss Little Bo Peep.  Both murals...

The Federal Arts Project (FAP) funded the Newton (now Newton North) High School Murals in Newton MA. Painted by Maurice Compris, the mural triptych depicts "Education," "Commerce," and "Industry." It was dedicated as a memorial to Leighton Brown, class of 1915, who died in World War I. Originally displayed in Newton High School library, moved to Newton North cafeteria, and now in the new Newton North building.

This mural "Town Meeting" was produced with WPA Federal Art Project funds and painted by Archibald J. Motley, Jr.

Artist Adrien Machefert painted a mural, "All Nations," at Ninth Street Elementary School in Los Angeles, CA. He was funded by the Federal Arts Project (FAP). "Adrien Machefert, a man past fifty, was born in San Jose, California, and started drawing for San Francisco newspapers at the age of seventeen. Following fourteen years doing portrait and landscape painting on the Island of Majorca, Mr. Machefert returned two and a half years ago to California and has since been working for FAP most of the time" (Wells, p. 22). Machefert's other New Deal–funded murals in the region include "Pilgrim's Harvest Festival" at Ann...

In 1937, artist Fletcher Martin painted a mural at North Hollywood High School in North Hollywood, CA. The mural, "Legends of the California Indians," was funded by the Federal Arts Project (FAP). The school "wanted a mural which related to the California scene and Indians. Mr. Martin felt that the usual themes had been overdone, so he sought out the legends of the people and chose from them the subject for his mural...." (Wells, p. 22). Martin ended up painting a Tataviam village. Located in a corner of the school auditorium, the mural was painted over in the 1950s. The Los...

The post office contains several Section of Fine Arts tempera murals painted by George Harding in 1939. The murals depict "Mail Delivery," "City," "Country," "Northern Coast," "Office," "Home," "Tropics," and "History of Mail Transportation by Water.

The historic Northgate Station post office housed an example of New Deal artwork: "Good Technique – Good Harvest," an oil-on-canvas mural by Victor Arnautoff. The work, which was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts, was completed and installed in the post office lobby in 1938. Unfortunately, the mural is now missing.

From the New York Times: "The city of Norwalk, Conn., has one of the nation’s largest surviving collections of W.P.A. murals, thanks to a restoration effort in the 1980s that preserved nearly two dozen in the old Norwalk High School, now City Hall. The rescued artwork is on display there, while other murals decorate Norwalk Community College, the city’s public library and maritime aquarium, and other public places. Though many of the murals depict scenes from local history, several are more exotic: Five murals by an artist named Arthur G. Hull illustrate imagined scenes from the travels of Marco Polo. The...

"The city of Norwalk, Conn., has one of the nation’s largest surviving collections of W.P.A. murals, thanks to a restoration effort in the 1980s that preserved nearly two dozen in the old Norwalk High School, now City Hall. The rescued artwork is on display there, while other murals decorate Norwalk Community College, the city’s public library and maritime aquarium, and other public places. Though many of the murals depict scenes from local history, several are more exotic: Five murals by an artist named Arthur G. Hull illustrate imagined scenes from the travels of Marco Polo. The Hull murals are on permanent...

"The city of Norwalk, Conn., has one of the nation’s largest surviving collections of W.P.A. murals, thanks to a restoration effort in the 1980s that preserved nearly two dozen in the old Norwalk High School, now City Hall. The rescued artwork is on display there, while other murals decorate Norwalk Community College, the city’s public library and maritime aquarium, and other public places. Though many of the murals depict scenes from local history, several are more exotic: Five murals by an artist named Arthur G. Hull illustrate imagined scenes from the travels of Marco Polo. The Hull murals are on permanent...

"The city of Norwalk, Conn., has one of the nation’s largest surviving collections of W.P.A. murals, thanks to a restoration effort in the 1980s that preserved nearly two dozen in the old Norwalk High School, now City Hall. The rescued artwork is on display there, while other murals decorate Norwalk Community College, the city’s public library and maritime aquarium, and other public places. Though many of the murals depict scenes from local history, several are more exotic: Five murals by an artist named Arthur G. Hull illustrate imagined scenes from the travels of Marco Polo. The Hull murals are on permanent...

"The city of Norwalk, Conn., has one of the nation’s largest surviving collections of W.P.A. murals, thanks to a restoration effort in the 1980s that preserved nearly two dozen in the old Norwalk High School, now City Hall. The rescued artwork is on display there, while other murals decorate Norwalk Community College, the city’s public library and maritime aquarium, and other public places. Though many of the murals depict scenes from local history, several are more exotic: Five murals by an artist named Arthur G. Hull illustrate imagined scenes from the travels of Marco Polo. The Hull murals are on permanent...

George Avison's 1937 mural "The Duke vs. The King" was commissioned for the Center School (since destroyed) by the WPA Federal Art Project. It is now located at the Norwalk Community College. Medium: oil on canvas Size: 9'10" x 3'5" Restoration Info: Property of City of Norwalk, CT, WPA Art Collection. Restored ca.1986

Alexander Rummler painted two murals for the Norwalk High School cafeteria: "Birds of Connecticut" and "Mammals of Connecticut." The murals were funded by the WPA Federal Art Project. They are now located in the Baker Library at Norwalk Community College. Medium: oil on canvas Size: c. 10' x 6' Restoration Info: Property of City of Norwalk, CT, WPA Art Collection. Restored ca.1986.

The Norwalk Public Library contains two WPA Federal Art Project murals by Justin Gruelle: "The Chinese Nightingale" and "Aladdin." The murals were originally installed at the South Norwalk Public Library. They were restored in 1986.

Artist Arthur Gibson Hull painted a series of murals depicting the travels of Marco Polo, including: "Africa," "China," "India," "Venice, the Musicians" and "Venice, the Ship." The murals were originally installedin 1940-41 at the Norwalk High School, with funding from the WPA Federal Art Project. They were restored in 1986 and are now located in the Norwalk Transit District building.  

Frederick Mulhaupt painted two large pieces for the old Maplewood School in 1934-35. They were later moved to their current location at the O'Maley Middle School. "Native American Life on Cape Ann" is composed of one 6' x 40 panel and two 6' x 6' panels. It was painted in 1934. The 12' x 20' mural "Gloucester Harbor" was painted in 1935 with funds from the WPA Federal Art Project.  

A 4 x 9 foot mural, "Our Daily Bread," was painted by Frederick Stoddard in 1934 with the help of New Deal funds for the old Central Grammar School – now O'Maley Middle School in Gloucester MA. Given the date, the work was almost surely paid for by the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP), which hired unemployed artists in the depth of the Depression.  

The O'Toole School contains a WPA mural entitled "Characters from Children's Literatur" by Alex Topp (Topchevsky). "Alex Topp was born in Chicago, where he studied at the Hull House under his older brother Morris and earned his MFA from the Art Institute of Chicago. Topchevsky worked for the WPA as an easel painter and executed murals for multiple government buildings. He traveled and painted in Mexico, Central America and Europe and is known for his social realist works from the 1930s and 1940s."   (richardnortongallery.com) Medium: tempera on canvas Size: 5'3"h x 24'w

    Frances Badger completed these two oil-on-canvas murals, entitled "Sailor with Spyglass" and "Treasure Island," in 1936 with funds provided by the Works Progress Administration's Federal Art Project. They were originally painted for the Louis Stevenson Playground but have since been moved to the second floor of the Oak Park Historical Society, where they were restored in 1996. A third mural at that site has been lost. Badger "was one of the foremost female WPA artists in Illinois. In addition to her murals in Oak Park, she also painted four murals for what was then a girls' detention center in Joliet and...

This mural (4 large and 8 small panels) entitled "The Legend of Charlemagne" by Carl Scheffler was completed with FAP funds in 1936.  

Two murals, "Fishing" and "Farming" painted in 1940 for the Nathan Clifford Elementary School and moved in 2012 to the new Ocean Avenue Elementary School that replaced it.

The Lincoln Hospital (also known as the Lincoln Medical and Health Center), has contained several WPA murals. During the 1930s, the Lincoln Hospital (then located at 141st St. and Southern Blvd. in the Bronx) received at least three WPA murals. Ruth Egri painted a large mural entitled "Disease, Cure and Prevention" for the hospital in 1938-1939; Eric Mose painted another WPA mural for the hospital in 1938; and Albert Kelly painted a multi-panel mural entitled "Circus Parade." In 1976, the hospital moved to its present location. Unfortunately, a conversation with an employee of Lincoln Medical Center in 2016 leads us to...

Ruth Egri painted a large WPA mural entitled "Disease, Cure and Prevention" in 1938-1939 for the Lincoln Hospital (then located at 141st St. and Southern Blvd. in the Bronx). In 1976, the hospital moved to its present location on 149th St. The mural’s current status is unknown, but it was probably lost in the demolition of the old hospital c. 2010.

In 1938, artist Albert Kelly painted a multi-panel mural entitled "The Circus" (it may also have been known as "Circus Parade") for the children's ward at the old Lincoln Hospital (then located at 141st St. and Southern Blvd.) in the Bronx. In 1976, the hospital moved to its present location on 149th St. The mural’s current status is unknown, but it was probably lost in the demolition of the old hospital c. 2010.