Post Office Mural – DeWitt AR

Description

Three panel Treasury Section mural entitled “Portrait of Contemporary DeWitt” painted by William Traher in 1941.

“William Traher was commissioned $750 to create a mural for DeWitt, Arkansas on the basis of competent designs submitted in the 1939, 48-States Mural Competition. He visited the community and noted the quiet nature of the town. Because of this unique disposition he determined that a matter-of-fact composition, capturing DeWitt just as it existed, would be the most fitting. While visiting, Traher made miniature sketches of the people and the community, which he used later to piece the mural together in his studio.

The murals depict the beauty and human interest to be found in the community of DeWitt. Each panel combines characteristic features of different localities. On the left is a Negro quarter and on the right a residential section. In the center panel are rice fields with a pumping station and cattle. In the background is a rice mill. The panels have been painted in varying tints and glazes in oil on white gesso ground.”

(uca.edu)