- City:
- Los Angeles, CA
- Site Type:
- Murals, Art Works
- New Deal Agencies:
- Federal Arts Project (FAP), Arts Programs
- Completed:
- 1939
- Artists:
- Bessie Pierce Heller, Grace Measham
- Quality of Information:
- Good
- Marked:
- Yes
- Site Survival:
- Extant
Description
In 1939, Bessie Pierce Heller (assisted by Grace Measham) painted a mural, “The Map Makers of the World,” for Virgil Middle School in Los Angeles, CA. The mural, a two-panel encaustic fresco located in the school library, received funding from the WPA Federal Art Project (FAP).
The south wall features Leif Erickson landing on Vineland, Marco Polo at the court of Kublai Khan, and Columbus landing on the Bahamas. The north wall features Magellan passing through stormy straits, Captain Cook exploring the South Sea Islands, and Admiral Byrd in Antarctica. The mural is signed “Federal Art Project W.P.A. ‘39” on the north wall in the bottom right corner.
Heller worked in the art department at MGM Studios. Her other FAP works in the region include mosaics at Mountain View High School in El Monte, CA.
Source notes
Originally posted in the New Deal Art Registry
Robin J. Dunitz, Street Gallery: Guide to 1000 Los Angeles Murals (RJD Enterprises, 1998).
LAUSD Art & Artifact Collection/Archive and Museum Collection Inventory Report (New Deal WPA)
Site originally submitted by Gabriel Milner on October 12, 2014.
Additional contributions by Natalie McDonald.
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