Marble mural, 'Settling of California,' Alameda County Courthouse - Oakland CA
Description
The former main entrance on the east side of the Alameda County Courthouse leads to an elegant lobby flanked by stairways and two large murals made of inlaid marble backed with gold and silver leaf.
The murals, which measure 10 x 30 feet, were designed by Marian Simpson and sculpted by Gaetano Duccini. They were paid for by the Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA).
One is called “Exploration” and depicts the Native American and Hispanic history of Alameda County. The other is called “Settling of California” and portrays the arrival of Anglo frontier settlers.
That entrance and lobby is presently closed to the public for security reasons, one supposes. It is impossible to view murals straight-on and the lighting makes for a bad highlight on photographs.
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Marble mural, 'Exploration,' Alameda County Courthouse - Oakland CA
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Marble mural, 'Exploration', Alameda County Courthouse - Oakland CA
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Marble mural, 'Settling of California,' Alameda County Courthouse - Oakland CA
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Signatures of artists, acknowledgement of FAP on marble mural, Alameda County Courthouse - Oakland CA
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Alameda County Courthouse Marble Mural,Archive Photo
Source notes
https://www.newdealartregistry.org/renderartworks/AlamedaCountyCourthouse/Oakland/CA/
Project originally submitted by Shaina Potts on February 6, 2010.
Additional contributions by Richard A Walker, Evan Kalish.
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