Udall Department of the Interior Building: Newell Murals - Washington DC

State:: WASHINGTON-DC
Site Type:: Art Works, Murals
New Deal Agencies:: Arts Programs, Treasury Section of Fine Arts (TSFA)
Completed:: 1939
Artist:: James Michael Newell
Quality of Information:: Very Good
Marked:: Yes
Site Survival:: Extant

Description

The Stewart Lee Udall Department of the Interior building contains one of the largest collections of New Deal art in Washington DC by some of the finest American artists of the time.

James Michael Newell painted two murals, “Insular Possession: Virgin Islands” and “Insular Possession: Alaska,” in 1939, with funding from the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. They depict the work of the Office of Insular Affairs, one of many agencies within the Department of Interior, and hang on the 6th floor north of the elevator lobby.

The Department of Interior Museum offers regular mural tours; check their website for information and registration.

For more information on the Interior building, its art and the artists, see Look and Perrault 1986 (below – available online). Artworks begin on p. 110.

Source notes

Look, David and Carole Perrault. The Interior Building: Its Architecture and Its Art. Washington DC: US Department of Interior, National Park Service, 1986. pp. 110-172. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015029850214&view=1up&seq=1

Department of the Interior

Site originally submitted by New Deal Art Registry on December 30, 2014.
Additional contributions by Richard A Walker.