- City:
- Canoga Park, CA
- Site Type:
- Murals, Art Works
- New Deal Agencies:
- Treasury Section of Fine Arts (TSFA), Arts Programs, Federal & Military Operations, Public Buildings Administration (PBA)
- Completed:
- 1941
- Artist:
- Maynard Dixon
- Quality of Information:
- Very Good
- Marked:
- Yes
- Site Survival:
- Extant
Description
The post office in Canoga Park, CA, is graced by a large oil-on-canvas mural by the artist Maynard Dixon, painted in 1941. The mural was commissioned by the Section of Fine Arts of the Federal Works Agency (which had previously been part of the Treasury Department).
Titled “Palomino Ponies,” the mural depicts several galloping horses and a rider. Dixon was one of the most well-known painters of the American West. “Palomino Ponies”—Dixon’s last public mural project—is registered as a National Landmark by the National Historical Society.
Note: Established in 1939, the Section of Fine Arts succeeded the Treasury Section of Painting and Sculpture (1934-1938) and the Treasury Section of Fine Arts (1938-1939) in overseeing artworks created to enhance public buildings, notably post offices.
Source notes
New Deal/W.P.A. Art in California (accessed Mar. 29, 2023)
See more photos by Rich Puchalsky
Site originally submitted by Shaina Potts on June 15, 2009.
Additional contributions by Richard A Walker, Diane Levine.
At this Location:
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steve janisz
Wayne Cohen
A wonderful American western mural in a lovely old building. May many more wonderful American murals grace the walls of Post Offices and other often visited buildings.
As a child we did not have mail delivery to our new suburb for some time. So my Mother would walk with me to this Post Office often. I fell in love with this Dixon painting of the Palomino horses, and actually dreamt of them throughout my life, perhaps symbolizing my childhood. The effect of Public Art on children is a subject someone might want to study in depth.