U.S. Custom House Murals – Philadelphia PA

Description

The custom house contains a series of 31 murals painted by George Harding in 1938. They were funded by the Treasury Section’s Section of Fine Arts program and depict the “Custom House and Court Activities” and “Various Port Activities in Philadelphia.”

“The interior [of the Custom House] was the result of an extraordinary collaboration among Brandywine School artist George Harding, architect Howell Lewis Shay, and Philadelphia Museum of Art director Fiske Kimball (who recommended Harding). Harding’s significant mural program consists of a series of 31 separate panels in the vestibule, elevator lobby, and rotunda area. The selection of ornamental motifs, based entirely on nautical vignettes and images of commerce, underscore the building’s function. Ships, planes, conch shells, seahorses, and reclining Neptunes in George Harding’s murals are all representative of the building’s function next to one of the world’s largest freshwater ports.”

(www.gsa.gov)