Emerson Building Library Mural – Cheyenne WY

City:
Cheyenne, WY

Site Type:
Art Works, Murals

New Deal Agencies:
Public Works of Art Project (PWAP), Arts Programs

Artists:
Jeanette Kaiser, Libbie Hoffman

Description

“The CWA also supported the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP), a six-month project that was a precursor to later New Deal arts projects. PWAP resulted in only a few works in Wyoming, one of which was the creation of a mural and decorative frieze adorning the library in McCormick Junior High School in Cheyenne. Two Cheyenne artists, Libbie Hoffman and Jeanette Kaiser, painted the mural.”

“The mural portrays an episode from the lore of frontier Wyoming — the reading of Shakespeare’s work to Scout Jim Bridger. Bridger is reputed to have traded a yoke of oxen for a volume of Shakespeare’s plays and to have paid a clerk at Fort Laramie to read the book to him. The mural was conceived and executed by two artists in the Cheyenne area, Libbie Hoffman and Jeanette Kaiser.”

The former McCormick Junior High School facility in downtown Cheyenne is now known as the Emerson Building.

Source notes

"Places of Learning: Historical Context of Schools in Wyoming," prepared for the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office Planning and Historic Context Development Program, Wyoming State Parks & Cultural Resources. https://wyoshpo.state.wy.us/pdf/WyomingSchoolsContext.pdf (pg. 120, .pdf pg. 122) "Annals of Wyoming," by Wyoming State Historical Society. Volume 45, Spring 1973, No. 1 (pg. 55). https://archive.org/stream/annalsofwyom45121973wyom#page/54/mode/2up https://archive.org/details/annalsofwyom45121973wyom

Site originally submitted by Evan Kalish on June 8, 2017.

Location Info


2001 Capitol Ave.
Cheyenne, WY 82001

Coordinates: 41.136878, -104.817437

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One comment on “Emerson Building Library Mural – Cheyenne WY

  1. concerned citizen

    This mural no longer exists. It was destroyed during one of the renovations to the Emerson Building.

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Contribute to this Site

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Submit More Information or Photographs for this New Deal Site

One comment on “Emerson Building Library Mural – Cheyenne WY

  1. concerned citizen

    This mural no longer exists. It was destroyed during one of the renovations to the Emerson Building.

Join the Conversation

Please note:

  • We are not involved in the management of New Deal sites and have no information about visits, hours or rentals.
  • This page shows all the information we have for this site; if you have new information or photos to share, click the button above.

Your email address will not be published, shared, or sold.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.