Start Year: 1938

The 4'6" x 12' oil-on-canvas mural entitled “Threshing” was painted in 1938 by Joe Jones for what was then Magnolia's new post office. The mural is still housed in the building, which had been converted into Magnolia's Public Library before becoming privately owned. “Joe Jones was commissioned for $560 to create a mural for Magnolia, Arkansas as a result of an Honorable Mention in an earlier Section of Fine Arts Competition. The composition is a mid-western scene of wheat threshing, The Section rejected Jones initial image of Negroes enjoying watermelon under a tree, basically stating that they wanted him to compose...

This oil-on-canvas Section of Fine Arts mural entitled “Tempora Mutantur et Nos Mutamur in Illis” was painted for the old Fairfield, Connecticut post office by Alice Flint in 1938. The mural was restored in 2013 and moved to a second floor conference room of Sullivan-Independence Hall (Fairfield's main municipal office building) when the original New Deal post office was sold to private interests.

The oil-on-canvas Section of Fine Arts mural entitled “Thompsonville, Connecticut” was painted by Saul Berman in 1938 in what was then the old Thompsonville post office. The town incorporated under the name of Enfield. The mural has been restored and was moved to the post office's present location on Palomba Drive in 1990.

The oil-on-canvas mural "Trail to Oregon" was painted by Edmund J. Fitzgerald in 1938. Fitzgerald also painted murals for the Colville, Washington and Preston, Idaho post offices.

The oil-on-canvas mural "Land of Irrigation," by Norman Chamberlain, was installed at the Selma Post Office on March 24, 1938. Before beginning the piece, Chamberlain traveled to Selma to get a sense of the local community. Local newspaper editor Lowell Pratt Clark took him for a tour of the surrounding countryside, including a visit to a local peach cannery. The final work reflected the town's agricultural economy, in particular irrigated peach and grape production. Chamberlain was paid $1500 for the work.

This 1938 Section of Fine Arts oil-on-canvas mural "Local Pursuits" by Ambrose Patterson was painted for the then Mount Vernon post office. The building (and mural) are now part of Skagit Valley College's Business Resource Center. “Born in Australia, Patterson studied in Europe before moving to the United States. In 1919, he sounded the School of Painting and Design at the University of Washington. The mural “Local Pursuits” highlights Skagit County’s agricultural industries, including dairy.” (depts.washington.edu)  

This 1938 fresco “The River” was painted by Francisca Negueloua, for Tallulah's then-new post office, with funding from the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. That post office is now the Madison Parish Health Unit; the mural has been relocated to Tallulah's current post office.

This oil-on-canvas mural entitled "Long Horns" was painted by Frank Mechau in 1938. "Painted in muted green, gray, and brown tones, the mural depicts a cowboy driving a herd of longhorns. The cattle occupy almost the entire foreground of the mural with crowded shapes that suggest the enormity of the herd. The artist utilized elongated shapes for the horse and cattle, particularly in the animals' heads which imparts a sense of motion. The cowboy is almost devoid of features which emphasizes the landscape and directs the viewer's gaze into the scene. The broad sweep of the landscape reinforces the sense of...

The oil-on-canvas mural entitled "Return from the Fields" was painted by Elof Wedin in 1938. Wedin also completed a post office mural in Litchfield, Minnesota. "If a picture is worth a thousand words, the six-foot by 12-foot oil on canvas mural on the north wall of the lobby of the Mobridge Post Office, “Return From The Fields” by Elof Wedin, speaks volumes. Dakota bluffs comprise the backdrop, and the muted images transport us back in time to a gentler era. You can hear the muffled footfalls of the big roan draft horse and the jangle of the harness as he is...

The egg tempera mural "Resources of the Soil" was painted by Ben Cunningham in 1938. The mural depicts Mendocino County landscapes and people, including men working in a lumber mill, a man tending a vineyard, horse riders and harvest time in an orchard. When the 75-year old New Deal Ukiah post office building was closed in 2012, the mural was removed and sent to Chicago for restoration. It was returned to Ukiah in November 2016, where it is temporarily on display in the lobby of the city's Civic Center. "The mural eventually will be hung in the new Mendocino County Courthouse...