- City:
- Los Angeles, CA
- Site Type:
- Murals, Art Works
- New Deal Agencies:
- Federal Arts Project (FAP), Arts Programs
- Completed:
- 1937
- Artist:
- Ross Dickinson
- Quality of Information:
- Very Good
- Marked:
- Unknown
- Site Survival:
- Unknown
Description
In 1937, Ross Dickinson painted “History of the Recorded Word” in the Thomas Jefferson High School library (Los Angeles, CA) with Works Progress Administration (WPA) Federal Arts Project funding.
The mural is comprised of four panels, each 10′ by 5.5′. The panels depict the history of printing, with subjects including hieroglyphs, manuscripts, and modern printing. After six months of research, Dickinson painted the mural in five weeks.
According to the Los Angeles Sentinel (one of the most influential African-American newspapers in the Western United States), “Dickinson was employed as an art teacher at the Art Center School of Los Angeles and needed to devote time as a muralist at several schools including Jefferson High and San Pedro High, to make ends meet. He applied for a grant to paint the mural.
“Dickinson’s mural is a tour de force,” the Sentinel continues, “because of its contextual sensitivity to the surrounding community. Not only did it complement Jefferson High’s Streamline Modern style, but it also complemented the intellectual and social prowess of Central Avenue’s Golden Age. Less than a mile away from the school’s entrance was the vibrant ambience of Los Angeles’ Black intellectual, social, political and artistic community.”
Source notes
Originally posted in the New Deal Art Registry
Onofre di Stefano, “Ross Dickinson’s Mural: A Timeless Connection with Jefferson High and the Eastside Community,” Los Angeles Sentinel (blog), February 21, 2019.
Site originally submitted by Natalie McDonald on October 12, 2014.
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