Post Office Murals – Eugene OR

Description

The post office contains two murals painted by Carl Morris in 1943.

“Carl Morris won the US Treasury Department’s Section of Painting and Sculpture competition to complete a set of murals for the building. The Section competition required that the art works represent local industry and agriculture, and while not the most representative of Morris’ subsequent style, the murals are wonderful examples of the Social Realism depicted across the country through this selection process. In this instance Morris’ special sense of color and design distinguish the Eugene murals.

The two 6′ x 15′ murals cover the upper walls of the north and south ends of the Post Office Lobby. The original cost of the project was $2,350. The funding came from approximately 1% of the building costs allocated for artwork. For the 1986 Historical Landmark dedication, Morris recounted his installation of the murals, which had been completed in 1942. Because the country was at war, however, he had been unable to get a leave of absence to install the murals.

Finally, “one Sunday [in 1943] a crew of friends and I installed the murals. It may have been a surprise to post office customers to find the murals on the walls Monday morning where none had existed the previous Friday…”

He continued: “It is particularly gratifying to me after 44 years to know that the people of Eugene are still enjoying those paintings….””  (www.lanecc.edu)