- City:
- Chelsea, MI
- Site Type:
- Art Works, Murals
- New Deal Agencies:
- Arts Programs, Federal & Military Operations, Treasury Section of Fine Arts (TSFA), Treasury Department
- Completed:
- 1938
- Artist:
- George Fisher
Description
George Fisher painted the mural “The Way of Life” in 1938. The work was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts for the city’s historic post office building. The mural was installed in the city’s present post office in August 2009.
“Painted by George Harold Fisher, the mural, titled ‘Way of Life,’ depicts a father, mother and child at rest in the foreground, with two apple trees in the background and a grinding stone and a spinning wheel on either side. It was installed in 1938 and commissioned by the secretary of painting and sculpture, Procurement Division of the Treasury Department, in 1937…. Fisher earned $560 for the mural.” (mlive.com)
Source notes
Originally posted in the New Deal Art Registry: https://www.newdealartregistry.org/https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2009/02/depressionera_mural_removed_fo.html, accessed December 4, 2014.
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Sabrina Gross
Gabriel Milner
Kristina Kayser Weiner
Greg Croasdill
This is a more complete photo of the entire image:
https://www.google.com/search?q=smokehouse+52+chelsea+MI&rlz=1C9BKJA_enUS609US609&hl=en-US&prmd=msivn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjupfLJ1_fSAhVESiYKHTagCbcQ_AUICSgD&biw=1024&bih=653#hl=en-US&tbm=isch&q=old+post+office+chelsea+MICHIGAN&*&imgrc=8LOUm0Y6ajBJIM:
That’s a great find. Would you be able to send us a version as a JPEG through our submissions site?
In the 1950s, the post office had plans to paint over the mural. My mother, Ann Kayser, a local artist and involved member of the Chelsea community, lobbied the village powers-that-be and anyone else who would listen to keep and preserve it. She shared with them the importance of this work of art as historically significant and a treasure to be preserved for coming generations.
I was delighted to see that the mural has been preserved and moved. Plan stop by the new post office to see it again. Have childhood memories of looking up at it when waiting in line for packages at the beautiful old post office building.
Mural restored and moved to new post office down the street.
https://annarborobserver.com/articles/restoring_a_community_icon.html#.Xo4If9NKh-U