Nettelhorst School Mural – Chicago IL

Description

"This abstract mural by Rudolph Weisenborn, made in 1939, is a treasured New Deal artifact located in Nettlehorst Elementary School in Chicago."
(Flynn and Polese)

The mural is entitled "Contemporary Chicago."

"Rudolph Weisenborns mural at Nettelhorst Elementary shows his interest in modern European painting styles such as Cubism. Fractured space, jagged lines, and vibrant primary colors convey Chicagos energy and modernity during the 1930s. On the left, an abstracted portrait of a sophisticated urban dweller is followed by forms of modern transportation such as small biplanes at Chicago Municipal Airport (Midway) and boats on Lake Michigan. The right half of the composition shows the stockyards on Chicagos South Side and a construction worker holding an anvil and working on a steel frame structure.

A native of Chicago, Weisenborn worked for a time as a gold miner and cowpuncher in Colorado before becoming an artist. He received four years of academic art training before turning his attention to more avant-garde painting styles. In addition to Contemporary Chicago, Weisenborns Chicago mural commissions included the only abstract mural for The Century of Progress (1933-34) exhibition and a mural series at Crane Technical High School."
(www.artic.edu)