- City:
- Upland, CA
- Site Type:
- Art Works, Murals
- New Deal Agencies:
- Arts Programs, Work Relief Programs, Federal Arts Project (FAP), Works Progress Administration (WPA)
- Completed:
- 1942
- Artist:
- Paul Julian
Description
Artist Paul Julian created a series of four large petrachrome murals on the exterior of Upland Elementary School’s auditorium.
The murals were funded by the WPA’s Federal Art Project and completed in 1942.
The set of four murals depicts scenes from Upland’s history: native era, mission era, Anglo settlement and citrus era. The paintings are in a stylized social realism typical of the time, featuring muscular men at work in all four panels. It is notable that the Indigenous people are portrayed in the same muscular manner as Spaniards and Anglos – though the cooperative labor of padres and natives seems a bit naive.
Source notes
Originally posted in the New Deal Art Registry: https://www.newdealartregistry.org/
Site originally submitted by New Deal Art Registry on March 28, 2014.
Additional contributions by Richard Walker.
Site Details
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Patricia Correll
Brent McKee
donna harthy
Thank you for the time and effort spent to document and photograph these murals. Paul Hull Julian (born Paul Hull Husted) was my husband’s first cousin, once removed, on his father’s side of the family. Like Paul Julian, my father was a set painter in his early years and he applied to attend Chouinard School of Art, where Julian attended, but my father entered the military instead. Our family has a deep appreciation for the arts and special projects like the WPA. Your time and effort has contributed greatly to our sense of family pride!
Glad we could contribute to your family’s history!
ok, now this is epic