- City:
- Morehead, KY
- Site Type:
- Art Works, Murals
- New Deal Agencies:
- Arts Programs, Treasury Section of Fine Arts (TSFA)
- Completed:
- 1939
- Artist:
- Frank W. Long
- Quality of Information:
- Very Good
- Marked:
- Yes
- Site Survival:
- Extant
Description
Frank W. Long painted the oil-on-canvas mural “The Rural Free Delivery” in 1939 for the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. The work is housed in what was originally constructed as the Morehead post office, is now a municipal building. The mural is viewable in the lobby.
From contributor Charles Swaney: “Interestingly, even though Frank Long painted as many murals or more than any other New Deal muralist, his initial sketch was rejected by Ed Rowen, the head of the section. Rowen objected to the obesity and unattractive woman in the center of the mural and the contrast with the very attractive young woman in the window in the right hand side of the mural. Long’s response was that the lack of attractiveness in the older woman is due to the ‘hellish existence most of these mountain farmwives endure’ and ‘the young ones, even on the farms, are pretty interesting to look at as regards pulchritude.’”
The mural has been restored and is now at the Rowan County Public Library, 175 Beacon Hill Dr., Morehead, KY.
Source notes
Originally posted in the New Deal Art Registry: https://www.newdealartregistry.org/ Park, Marlene and Gerald Markowitz, Democratic Vistas, Post Offices and Public Art in the New Deal, Temple University Press, 1984. Long, Frank W, Confessions of a Depression Muralist, Missouri University Press, pp. 139-149, 1997.Site originally submitted by Charles Swaney on December 5, 2014.
At this Location:
Site Details
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Steve Graves
Bet Ison
Gabriel Milner
This is being restored now and it is an Egg Tempera painting on Belgian Linen.
We are trying to restore as many of these murals as possible before they are destroyed and lost.
The restored mural now hangs at the Rowan County Public Library at 175 Beacon Hill Dr., Morehead, KY 40351
Thank you for this update. I’ve added the info to our entry.