James T. Foley U.S. Courthouse Murals – Albany NY

Description

This series of murals painted by Ethel Parsons hangs in the James T. Foley Courthouse, originally the Albany Post Office, in Albany, New York. From the General Services Administration entry on the courthouse: “Marble pilasters divide the main lobby into nine bays, each articulated with a ceiling mural. Artist Ethel M. Parsons painted the oil-on-canvas murals in 1935, depicting each of the seven continents as well as the North Pole and the United States. Interspersed with the murals are plaster plaques by Italian artist Enea Biafora Portraying famous Americans, including Abraham Lincoln, Benjamin Franklin, and George Washington, as portrayed on the earliest U.S. postage stamps. With the exception of the murals, the ceiling is covered with aluminum leaf.”