- City:
- Des Moines, IA
- Site Type:
- Art Works, Murals
- New Deal Agencies:
- Arts Programs, Work Relief Programs, Federal Arts Project (FAP), Works Progress Administration (WPA)
- Completed:
- 1937
- Artists:
- George Grooms, Glenn Chamberlain, Grant Wood
- Quality of Information:
- Very Good
- Site Survival:
- Extant
Description
From the school website:
“In the 1930s the famous WPA Murals, under the direction of Grant Wood, were painted for the walls of Callanan. The school was fortunate to be chosen to have two such artistic treasures to beautify the upper portion of each stairway. The south mural Nation at Work’ was painted by George Grooms in 1936. The north mural ‘Nation at Play’ was by Glen Chamberlain and dated to 1937. Each mural made a statement about preparing young people for participation the the adult world. They were viewed as a patriotic reflection of President Roosevelt’s aim to get all our citizens back to work. ‘Play’ was further featured in an exhibit in Washington D.C. to gain support for more New Deal Art Programs. The murals were restored in the 1980′s by the efforts of Principal Marian L. Ehlers and a community wide fundraising campaign.”(https://callanan.dmschools.org)
Source notes
Originally posted in the New Deal Art Registry: https://www.newdealartregistry.org/ Inventory of Works Progress Administration, Manuscript Number MS-260, Prepared by Becky S. Jordan under the supervision of Glenn L. McMullen, Head, Department of Special Collections, The Parks Library, Iowa State University, August 1993 Callanan Middle School websiteContribute to this Site
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Submit More Information or Photographs for this New Deal Site2 comments on “Callanan Middle School Murals – Des Moines IA”
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Steve Grooms
Sophia
The work mural was painted by my father, George Grooms, when he was 20 years old. He and I visited the murals in 1998 on a nostalgic trip to Iowa, where my dad was born and where he spent many years. Dad was pleased–maybe even relieved–when he got to see the mural again. He had last seen it 60 years ago. He fled from it then, feeling ashamed of his pretension.
I can offer more information, especially personal information, about the painting to anyone who has the interest.
Hello,
I am just wondering if you can answer some questions of mine for a school project. My topic is the Federal Art Project and I was wondering if you could send me some pictures if you have any. Also, do you know how much he was paid? Or if he did any other murals? Thank you for your time and help it is very appreciated! If you could email me back at [email protected] that would be great, again thank you so much!