The following information is quoted from "New Deal Art in Alabama Post Offices and Federal Buildings" Alabama Moments in History (at http://www.alabamamoments.state.al.us/sec49det.html):

The Treasury Section of Fine Arts was established in October of 1934. It was to be a companion to the construction of federal buildings, which came under the Treasury Department at the time. Originally 1% of the cost of any new federal structure was to be set aside for the decoration of the structure, an arrangement which never worked. The two most common structures built under the New Deal were post offices and courthouses. In the end not all the buildings constructed during this period received decoration.

The standard New Deal post office carried a decorative allotment of $650-750, covering a space about twelve by five feet above the postmaster's door. The courthouses, larger and more costly, could pay a commission of $3,000 and covered much more extensive surfaces. From the allotted funds the artist was required to purchase all the necessary supplies and pay the costs of installation and photographs. Payment to the artist came in three installments: when the initial sketch was approved, when a scale drawing was approved, and when the final panel was verified as in-place by the local postmaster. Although the Section remained committed to many of its original ideals (to produce high quality art for small-town America, to use local talent whenever possible, and to encourage local participation) they soon realized that anonymous competitions were too difficult for the small post office commissions.

The largest competition undertaken by the Section, the 48 States Competition, was in 1939. Over 3,000 entries were judged and the winning entries were placed in one post office in each state. The winner for Alabama was the mural by Robert Gwathmey in Eutaw, although his submitted sketch was actually for his home state of Virginia. The winners of the 48 States Competition were exhibited around the country and then shown in Life magazine in December of 1939.

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The winners of the 48 States Competition from Life Magazine, December 4, 1939, pp. 12-13:

Eutaw	Alabama
Safford	Arizona
Paris	Arkansas
Los Banos	California
Littleton	Colorado
East Hartford	Connecticut
Selbyville	Delaware
De Funiak Springs	Florida
Convers	Georgia
Kellogg	Idaho
Hamilton	Illinois
Spencer	Indiana
Corning	Iowa
Seneca	Kansas
Hickman	Kentucky
Dover-Foxcroft	Maine
Eunice	Louisiana
Elkton	Maryland
Stoughton	Massachusetts
Grand Ledge	Michigan
St. Paul	Minnesota
Leland	Mississippi
Jackson	Missouri
Great Falls	Montana	The Great Falls MT mural was placed in the Post Office at Glasgow, MT. The citizens of Great Falls took an "immediate dislike" for the mural. - information from Jimmy Emerson
Schuyler	Nebraska
Yerington	Nevada
Milford	New Hampshire
Bordentown	New Jersey
Hot Springs	New Mexico
Delhi	New York
Boone	North Carolina
New Rockford	North Dakota
Bridgeport	Ohio
Purcell	Oklahoma
Burns	Oregon
Mercer	Pennsylvania
Westerley	Rhode Island	Westerly RI evidently had sketches made by 4 separate artists, but a mural was never commissioned nor installed. Information from Jimmy Emerson
Mullins	South Carolina
Flandreau	South Dakota
Lenoir City	Tennessee
Lampasas	Texas
Helper	Utah
Island Pond	Vermont	Island Pond VT never had a mural placed, sketches were made but the office was "lost in limbo of appropriations contingencies". - information from Jimmy Emerson
Phoebus	Virginia
Shelton	Washington
Mannington	West Virginia
Chilton	Wisconsin
Greybull	Wyoming

Pdf (3.88 MB) b&w copy of Life article

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