New Deal/WPA Art in Kansas
Post Office New Deal Artwork
Most of the Post Office works of art were funded through commissions under the Treasury Department's Section of Painting and Sculpture (later known as The Section of Fine Arts) and not the WPA.
"Often mistaken for WPA art, post office murals were actually executed by artists working for the Section of Fine Arts. Commonly known as "the Section," it was established in 1934 and administered by the Procurement Division of the Treasury Department. Headed by Edward Bruce, a former lawyer, businessman, and artist, the Section's main function was to select art of high quality to decorate public buildings if the funding was available. By providing decoration in public buildings, the art was made accessible to all people." from "Articles from EnRoute : Off The Wall: New Deal Post Office Murals" by Patricia Raynor
Unless indicated, works of art are located in the US Post Office building.
|
Location |
Artist |
Title |
Date |
Medium |
|
Anthony |
Joe Jones |
"Turning a Corner" |
1939 |
oil on canvas |
|
Augusta |
Donald Silks |
"A Kansas Gusher" |
1940 |
oil on canvas |
|
Belleville |
Birger Sandzen |
"Kansas Stream" |
1939 |
oil on canvas |
|
Burlington |
Robert Kittredge |
"Boy and Colt" |
1942 |
stone |
|
Caldwell |
Kenneth Evett |
"Cowboys Driving Cattle" |
1941 |
tempera |
|
Columbus |
Waylande Gregory |
"R.F.D." |
1940 |
terra-cotta relief (crated in basement) |
|
Council Grove |
Charles B. rogers |
"Autumn Colors" |
1941 |
oil on canvas (partly covered) |
|
Eureka |
Vance Kirkland |
"Cattle Roundup" |
1938 |
oil on canvas |
|
Fort Scott |
Oscar E. Berninghaus |
"Border Gateways" |
1937 |
oil on canvas |
|
Fredonia |
Lenore Thomas |
"Delivery of Mail to the Farm" |
1939 |
glazed terra cotta |
|
Goodland |
Kenneth M. Adams |
"Rural Free Delivery" |
1937 |
oil on canvas |
|
Halstead |
Birger Sandzen |
"Where Kit Carson Camped" |
1941 |
oil on canvas |
|
Herrington |
H. Louis Freund |
"Arrival of the First Train in Herington - 1885" |
1937 |
oil on canvas |
|
Hoisington |
Dorothea Tomlinson |
"Wheat Center" |
1938 |
oil on canvas |
|
Horton |
Kenneth Evett |
"Picnic in Kansas" and "Changing Horses for the Pony Express" |
1939 |
|
|
Hutchinson |
Lumen Martin Winter |
"Threshing in Kansas" |
1942 |
mural |
|
Kingman |
Jessie S. Wilbur |
"In the Days of the Cattlemen's Picnic" |
1942 |
tempera |
|
Lindsborg |
Birger Sandzen |
"Smoky River" |
1938 |
oil on canvas |
|
|
Bernard J. Steffen |
"Neodesha's First Inhabitants" |
1938 |
oil on wood |
|
Olathe |
Albert T. Reid |
"The Mail Must Go Through" |
1940 |
oil on canvas |
|
Oswego |
Robert E. Larter |
"Farm Life" |
1940 |
oil on canvas |
|
Russell |
Martyl Schweig |
"Wheat Workers" |
1940 |
oil on canvas |
|
Sabetha |
Albert T. Reid |
"The Hare and the Tortoise" |
1937 |
oil on canvas |
|
Salina, |
Carl C. Mose |
"Land" and "Communication" |
1940 |
sculpture |
|
Seneca |
Joe Jones |
"Men and Wheat" |
1940 |
oil on canvas |
|
Wichita |
Richard Haines |
"Kansas Farming" |
1936 |
oil on canvas |
|
Wichita |
Ward Lockwood |
"Pioneer in Kansas" |
1936 |
oil on canvas |
All mural images depicted
on this site are used with permission
of the United States Postal Service. All rights reserved.
Source:
Democratic Vistas:Post Offices and Public Art in the New Deal
by Marlene Park & Gerald E. Markowitz
"Kansas
Post Offices & WPA Murals" has photos and articles about Kansas
post office murals located at: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~mogeneal/wpa/kspo.htm
(thanks to Mary Lynne Ellis for sending this link!)
© 2004 Nancy Lorance
All Rights Reserved.