Millard Sheets Mural, Dept of Interior - Washington DC
“The Negro’s Contribution in the Social and Cultural Development of America”
Description
The Stewart Lee Udall Department of the Interior building contains one of the largest collections of New Deal art in Washington DC by some of the finest American artists of the time.
Millard Sheets produced a four-panel, oil-on-canvas mural, “The Negro’s Contribution in the Social and Cultural Development of America”, featuring The Arts, Education, Science and Religion. This imposing set of murals was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts in 1939 but not installed until 1948, owing to disagreements over the original subject matter. While Sheets was white, he sought to express “my high regard and feeling for the Negro.” (Negro was the general term for African Americans at the time).
The murals are installed around the Grand Staircase on the 1st floor.
The Department of Interior Museum offers regular mural tours; check their website for information and registration.
For more information on the Interior building, its art and the artists, see Look and Perrault 1986 (below – available online). Artworks begin on p. 110.
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“The Negro’s Contribution in the Social and Cultural Development of America”
Millard Sheets Mural, Dept of Interior - Washington DC
“The Negro’s Contribution in the Social and Cultural Development of America”
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“The Negro’s Contribution in the Social and Cultural Development of America”
Millard Sheets Mural, Dept of Interior - Washington DC
“The Negro’s Contribution in the Social and Cultural Development of America”
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“The Negro’s Contribution in the Social and Cultural Development of America”
Millard Sheets Mural, Dept of Interior - Washington DC
“The Negro’s Contribution in the Social and Cultural Development of America”
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“The Negro’s Contribution in the Social and Cultural Development of America”
Millard Sheets Mural, Dept of Interior - Washington DC
“The Negro’s Contribution in the Social and Cultural Development of America”
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“The Negro’s Contribution in the Social and Cultural Development of America”
Millard Sheets Mural, Dept of Interior - Washington DC
“The Negro’s Contribution in the Social and Cultural Development of America”
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“The Negro’s Contribution in the Social and Cultural Development of America”
Millard Sheets Mural, Dept of Interior - Washington DC
“The Negro’s Contribution in the Social and Cultural Development of America”
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“The Negro’s Contribution in the Social and Cultural Development of America”
Millard Sheets Mural, Dept of Interior - Washington DC
“The Negro’s Contribution in the Social and Cultural Development of America”
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Plaque for Millard Sheets Murals, Dept of Interior - Washington DC
Source notes
Look, David and Carole Perrault. The Interior Building: Its Architecture and Its Art. Washington DC: US Department of Interior, National Park Service, 1986. pp. 110-172. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015029850214&view=1up&seq=1
Project originally submitted by Charles Swaney on March 22, 2015.
Additional contributions by Richard A Walker.
We welcome contributions of additional information on any New Deal project site.
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