- City:
- Willard, OH
- Site Type:
- Art Works, Murals
- New Deal Agencies:
- Arts Programs, Treasury Section of Fine Arts (TSFA)
- Artist:
- Mitchell Jamieson
- Quality of Information:
- Moderate
- Site Survival:
- Extant
Description
Mitchell Jamieson painted this oil on canvas mural, entitled “The Roundhouse,” in 1941, with funding from the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. From the Willard Times, March 27, 1941:
“A beautiful mural entitled ‘The Roundhouse at Willard,’ depicting railroad employes repairing locomotives, now adorns the north wall of Willard’s post office. It was placed there Friday and painted by Mitchell Jamieson, artist of Washington, D. C., who painted it for the Federal Works Agency, Public Building Administration, Washington as a government project. The painting done on canvas is seven by fourteen feet and shows men working on three locomotives in various stages of repair. Mr. Jamieson was one of the artists commissioned by the government to paint murals for public buildings that would be expressive of the communities in which the buildings were located.
The original sketches were made in the B. & O. roundhouse at Washington, D. C. as it was found that the locomotives repaired at Willard and the work done is similar to that performed at this terminal. The artist spent about six months drawing the original sketches and painting the large picture. The mural attracts much attentions and beautifies the interior of the post office lobby. Mr. Jamieson has studied in the Abbot School of Fine Arts in Washington. He painted murals also for Marlboro, Md, and for Laurel, Md. In 1937 he made a tour of the Southern Pacific railroad and painted scenes and activities along the railroad for Fortune magazine. His brothers, Ballard and Philip Jamieson, helped him put up the mural here. Last summer Mr. Jamieson wrote the local post office asking what subjects would be most suitable for a painting and from several suggestions made by Postmaster H. C. Stapf and employes at the post office chose the railroad theme.” (Kevin Casto, The Ohio Expressionist, 12/11/2013)
Source notes
Originally posted in the New Deal Art Registry: https://www.newdealartregistry.org/ Text excerpt courtesy of The Ohio Expressionist blog: https://theohioexpressionist.wordpress.com/2013/12/11/the-roundhouse-at-willard/At this Location:
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