New Deal/WPA Art In New York
Bellmore, NY - W. C. Mepham High School
Bronx, NY
The Living SchoolBook - links to New York WPA art.
Farmingdale - New York State Institute of Applied Agriculture at Farmingdale (now Farmingdale State University of New York, 2350 Broadhollow Road) - 4 oil on canvas murals by Frederick Marshall on walls of staircases (1936) - 2 in Cutler Hall; 2 in Hicks Hall (source: "The Legacy of New Deal Art on Long Island," by Natalie A. Naylor, Long Island Historical Journal, Fall 2004/Spring 2005, Vol. 17, No. 1-2.
Floral Park - Sewanhaka Central High School, 500 Tulip Avenue, in cafeteria on the third floor. 2 oil on canvas murals by Frederick Marshall of Indian scenes (1937) (source: "The Legacy of New Deal Art on Long Island," by Natalie A. Naylor, Long Island Historical Journal, Fall 2004/Spring 2005, Vol. 17, No. 1-2.
Harlem, NY - Harlem Hospital was home to several WPA murals. There are photos available at the New Deal Network (Harlem Hospital). One of those photos shows Georgette Seebrooks working on her Harlem Hospital mural. There is additional information at The Living SchoolBook Harlem page.
Hastings on Hudson, NY - there is a WPA mural in the the Hastings on Hudson Middle School (formerly the High School) at 27 Farragut Avenue, entitled "Westward Ho!" by Jack A Warren. The mural is oil on canvas and measures 6' x 30', installed in 1936. Warren is noted for his co-creation of "Pecos Bill" which he cartooned in syndication with the original author of "Pecos Bill," Tex O'Reilley. The school is currently working with the Hastings Historical Society for the mural to be restored and installed in new library.
Hempstead - Fire House, Southside Hose Company No. 2, Bernhard St. and Long Beach Rd. Six oil on canvas murals above dado around walls of the second floor meeting room, by Carl Noble (1938) (source: "The Legacy of New Deal Art on Long Island," by Natalie A. Naylor, Long Island Historical Journal, Fall 2004/Spring 2005, Vol. 17, No. 1-2.
Hicksville - the WPA murals in the Hicksville High School (now the Junior High School), Jerusalem Avenue, auditorium, done by Joseph Allen Physioc, (1936).
Mineola - Nassau County Old Courthouse, now the Theodore Roosevelt Executive and Legislative Building, 1550 Franklin Avenue, upper foyer. Four oil on canavas murals by Robert Gaston Herbert (1937 and 1938) (source: "The Legacy of New Deal Art on Long Island," by Natalie A. Naylor, Long Island Historical Journal, Fall 2004/Spring 2005, Vol. 17, No. 1-2.
Poughkeepsie, NY - the Post Office
Riker's Island Penitentiary - Harold Lehman designed "Man's Daily Bread," a 20'x70' mural that was placed in the cafeteria of Riker's Island Penitentiary in New York City. This mural was destroyed sometime around 1962 when the warden at Riker's Island Penitentiary ordered it to be pulled down. Riker's Island Penitentiary is also home to the Anton Refregier's WPA 1937 mural. These images of Refregier's "Home & Family" mural can be accessed from the home page of the New York Correction History Society (NYCHS): www.correctionhistory.org (NYCHS images and NYC-TV images)
Roslyn Heights - originally in Roslyn High School auditorium. Six oil on canvas murals by Robert Gaston Herbert (1937) (source: "The Legacy of New Deal Art on Long Island," by Natalie A. Naylor, Long Island Historical Journal, Fall 2004/Spring 2005, Vol. 17, No. 1-2.
Westchester - two wood carvings done under the supervision of Salvatore Aucello have been found.
Yaphank - originally in Suffolk Home, later the Infirmary, now a county office building, 300 Yaphank Avenue, auditorium. Two oil on canvas murals by Robert Gaston Herbert (1939) (source: "The Legacy of New Deal Art on Long Island," by Natalie A. Naylor, Long Island Historical Journal, Fall 2004/Spring 2005, Vol. 17, No. 1-2.
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 |
|
Akron |
Elizabeth Logan |
"Horse-Drawn Railroad" |
1941 |
tempera |
|
Albion |
Judson Smith |
"Along the Barge Canal" |
1939 |
oil on canvas |
|
Amsterdam |
Henry Schnakenberg |
"Departure of a Packet Boat" and "Sir William Johnson Conferring with the Indians" |
1939 |
oil on canvas |
|
Angola |
Leopold F. Scholz |
"A Pioneer Woman's Bravery" |
1940 |
cast stone relief |
|
Attica |
Thomas Donnelly |
"Fall in the Genesse Country" |
1938 |
oil on canvas |
|
Baldwinsville |
Paul Weller |
"Gateway to the West" |
1941 |
oil on canvas |
|
Bay Shore |
Wheeler Williams |
"Speed" |
1936 |
sculpture |
|
Beacon |
Charles Rosen (Clarence Bolton, Assistant) |
maps with views of mid-Hudson region |
1937 |
oil on canvas |
|
Binghamton |
Kenneth Washburn |
"Communication" |
1938 |
oil on canvas |
|
|
Suzanne and Lucerne McCullough |
"The Black River Canal - 1845" |
1939 |
oil on canvas |
|
Bronxville |
John Sloan |
"The Arrival of the First Mail in Bronxville, 1846" |
1939 |
oil on canvas |
|
Canajoharie |
Anatol Shulkin |
"Invention of a Paper Bag in Canajoharie" |
1942 |
oil on canvas |
|
Canastota |
Alison Mason Kingsbury |
"The Onion Fields" |
1942 |
tempera on canvas |
|
Canton |
Berta Margoulies |
"Stillman Foote Acquires Homestead of John Harrington" |
1939 |
painted plaster relief |
|
Clyde |
Thomas Donnelly |
"Apple Pickers" |
1941 |
oil on canvas |
|
Cooperstown |
Victor Salvatore |
figures of James Fenimore Cooper, Natty Bumppo, and Chief Chingachgook |
no date |
bronze reliefs |
|
Cortland |
Ryah Ludins |
"Valley of the Seven Hills" |
1943 |
painted wood relief |
|
Delhi |
Mary Earley |
"Down-Rent War, around 1845" |
1940 |
mural |
|
Delmar |
Sol Wilson |
"The Indian Ladder" |
1940 |
oil on canvas |
|
Depew |
Anne Poor |
"Beginning of the Day" |
1941 |
oil on canvas |
|
Dolgeville |
James Michael Newell |
"Underground Railroad" |
1940 |
fresco |
|
East Rochester |
Bernard Gussow |
"Recreation Hours" |
1938 |
oil on canvas |
|
Ellenville |
Louis Bouche |
"Establishment of First Post Office in Ellenville in 1823" |
1942 |
oil on canvas |
|
Endicott |
S. Douglass Crockwell |
"Endicott, 1901 - Excavating for the Ideal Factory" |
1938 |
oil on canvas |
|
Fairport |
Henry Van Wolf |
"The Harvest" |
1939 |
bronze relief |
|
Fort Edward |
George A. Picken |
"Lock on the Champlain Canal, Fort Edward" |
1938 |
oil on canvas |
|
Frankfort |
Albert Wein |
"Growth" |
1942 |
wood relief |
|
Fredonia |
Arnold Blanch |
harvest scene |
1937 |
oil on canvas |
|
Freeport |
William Gropper |
winter scene and loading mail onto airplane |
1938 |
oil on canvas |
|
Fulton |
Caroline s. Rohland |
"Father LeMoyne Trying to Convert the Indians on Pathfinders Island" |
1942 |
oil on canvas |
|
Garden City |
J. Theodore Johnson |
"Huckleberry Frolic" |
1937 |
oil on canvas |
|
Geneva |
Theodore C. Barbarossa (Rudolph Henn, Giuseppe Bartoli, and Dominic LaSalle, Assistants) |
"Industry," "Education," "Eagle," "Aviation," and "Agriculture" |
1938 |
cast stone reliefs |
|
Geneva |
Peter Blume |
"Vineyard" |
1942 |
oil on canvas |
|
Goshen |
Georgina Klitgaard |
"The Hambletonian Stake" |
1937 |
oil on canvas |
|
Great Neck |
Gaetano Cecere |
American eagle and thirteen stars |
1940 |
sunken relief |
|
Hamilton |
Humbert Albrizio |
"The Messengers" |
1938 |
relief |
|
Harrison |
Harold Goodwin |
"Early Days of the Automobile" |
1941 |
oil on canvas |
|
Hempstead |
Peppino Mangravite |
scene of settlement of Hempstead and arrival of British dirigible R.34 with the first air mail in 1919 |
1937 |
oil on canvas |
|
Homer |
Frank Romanelli |
"Albany Street Bridge" |
1940 |
oil on canvas |
|
Honeoye Falls |
Stuart Edie |
"The Life of the Senecas" |
1942 |
oil on canvas |
|
Hudson |
Vincent Glinsky (Leo Schulemowitz, Assistant) |
"Evolution of Transportation" |
1934 |
five cast stone reliefs |
|
Hudson Falls |
George A. Picken (Ludwig Mactarian, Assistant) |
"Scenes and Activities of Hudson" |
1937 |
oil on canvas |
|
Huntington |
Paul C. Chapman |
"Huntington Harbor" |
1939 |
oil on canvas |
|
Hyde Park |
Olin Dows |
"Professions and Industries of Hyde Park" |
1941 |
oil on canvas |
|
Ilion |
Edmond R. Amateis |
"Eliphalet Remington" |
1937 |
relief |
|
Johnson City |
Frederick Knight |
scenes of post service, local industries, and other activities typical of the community |
1937 |
mural |
|
Lake George |
Judson Smith |
"Lake George" |
1942 |
oil on canvas |
|
Lake Placid |
Henry Billings |
five scenes of winter sports |
1937 |
oil on canvas |
|
Lancaster |
Arthur Getz |
"Early Commerce in the Erie Canal Region" |
1940 |
oil on canvas |
|
Long Beach |
Jon Corbino |
"The Pleasures of the Bathing Beach" |
1939 |
oil on canvas |
|
Lowville |
Helen Wilson |
"Joy in the Earth" |
1942 |
terra-cotta relief |
|
Middleburg |
Mary Earley |
"Dance of the Hop Pickers" |
1941 |
oil and tempera |
|
Middleport |
Marianne Appel |
"Rural Highway" |
1941 |
oil on canvas |
|
Moravia |
Kenneth Washburn |
Jethro Wood making the first successful all-metal plough in 1819 in Moravia |
1942 |
terra-cotta relief |
|
Mount Kisco |
Thomas Donnelly |
"Indian Cornfield" and "Mount Kisco in 1850" |
1936 |
oil on canvas |
|
New Rochelle |
David Hutchison |
"The Huguenots Lay the Foundations of the City of New Rochelle," "John Pell Receives Partial Payment for 6,000 Acres," and "The Post Rider Brings News of the Battle of Lexington" |
1940 |
oil on canvas |
|
New York City, |
Henry Kreis |
"The Letter" |
1938 |
limestone facade |
|
New York City, |
Charles Rudy |
"Noah" |
1938 |
limestone facade |
|
New York City, |
Ben Shahn and Bernarda Bryson |
"Resources of America" |
1939 |
tempera(thirteen panels) |
|
New York City, |
Irving A. Block and Abraham Lishinsky |
"Washington and the Battle of the Bronx" |
1942 |
oil on canvas |
|
New York City, Manhattan, Canal Street Post Office |
Wheeler Williams |
"Indian Bowman" |
1938 |
terra-cotta relief |
|
New York City, Manhattan, Custom House |
Reginald March |
eight New York Harbor scenes and eight grisaille portraits of great navigators |
1936-37 |
fresco secco |
|
New York City, Manhattan, General Post Office |
Louis Lozowick (Joseph Kaplan, Assistant) |
"The Triborough Bridge in Process of Construction" and "Sky Line and Waterfront Traffice as Seen from Manhattan Bridge" |
no date |
oil on canvas |
|
New York City, Manhattan, Madison Square Post Office |
Edmond R. Amateis and Louis Slobodkin |
"Communication" |
1937 |
bronze, facade (five reliefs) |
|
New York City, Manhattan, Madison Square Post Office |
Kindred McLeary |
"Scenes of New York" |
1937-39 |
tempera on plaster, eight panels |
|
New York City, Manhattan, Old Chelsea Post Office |
Paul Fiene |
"Deer" and "Bears" |
1938 |
cast stone with silver leaf finish |
|
New York City, Queens, Forest Hills Station |
Sten Jacobson |
"Spirit of Communication" |
1938 |
terra-cotta relief |
|
New York City, Queens, Jackson Heights Station |
Peppino Mangravite |
"Development of Jackson Heights" |
1940 |
oil on canvas |
|
New York City, Queens, Wood Haven Station |
Ben Shahn |
"The First Amendment" |
1941 |
mural |
|
Nyack |
Jacob Getlar Smith (Jacob Peltzman, Assistant) |
scenes of local history in the colonial period |
1936 |
mural |
|
Orchard Park |
Francis P. De Luna |
"In the Park" |
1943 |
walnut relief |
|
Oxford |
Mordi Gassner |
"Family Reunion on Clark Island, Spring 1791" |
1941 |
tempera |
|
Oyster Bay |
Leo Lentelli |
"Asia America 1858-1919" and "Africa Oceania 1904-1936" |
1936 |
terra-cotta reliefs |
|
Oyster Bay |
Leo Lentelli |
bust of Theodore Roosevelt |
1936 |
terra-cotta |
|
Oyster Bay |
Ernest Peixotto (Arthur Sturges, Assistant) |
scenes of local history |
1937 |
fresco |
|
Oyster Bay |
Abell Sturges |
allegory of North America receiving mail from world |
1936 |
fresco |
|
Painted Post |
Amy Jones |
"Recording the Victory" |
1939 |
oil on canvas |
|
|
Domenico Mortellito (Gustavo Cenci, Assistant) |
nine lunettes depicting occupations and four arched panels - dock workers, tool and die workers, Life Savers Building, and millowners |
1936 |
oil on canvas |
|
Port Washington |
Harry S. Lane |
"Lighthouse," "Sailing," and "Landscape" |
1937 |
oil on canvas |
|
Poughkeepsie |
Gerald Foster |
"Scene in Poughkeepsie - 1750," "Ratification of the Constitution - 1788," and "Indian Resting Spot - 1690" |
1938 |
tempera |
|
Poughkeepsie |
Georgina Klitgaard |
"View of Poughkeepsie from River" |
1940 |
tempera |
|
Poughkeepsie |
Charles Rosen |
"Contemporary View of Poughkeepsie from River" |
1940 |
tempera |
|
Rhinebeck |
Olin Dows |
scenes of local history |
1940 |
oil on canvas |
|
Richfield Springs |
John W. Taylor |
local landscape |
1942 |
oil on canvas |
|
Rockville Center |
Victor White |
scenes of local history |
1939 |
oil on canvas - four panels |
|
Rome |
Wendell Jones |
"Barn Raising" |
1942 |
oil on canvas |
|
Rye |
Guy Pene du Bois |
"John Jay at His Home" |
1938 |
oil on canvas |
|
Saint Johnsville |
Jirayr H. Zorthian |
three periods in the development of the Mohawk Valley |
1940 |
oil on canvas |
|
Saratoga Springs |
Guy Pene du Bois |
"Saratoga in Racing Season" |
1937 |
oil on canvas (funded by TRAP) - two panels |
|
Scarsdale |
Gordon Samstag |
"Caleb Heathcote Buys the Richbell Farm" and "Law and Order in Old Scarsdale Manor" |
1940 |
oil on canvas |
|
|
Amy Jones |
"The Glen Family Spared by French and Indians - 1690" |
1941 |
tempera |
|
Spring Valley |
Stephen Etnier |
"Waiting for the Mail" |
1938 |
oil on canvas |
|
Springville |
Victoria Hutson Huntley |
"Fiddler's Green" |
1938 |
oil on canvas |
|
Suffern |
Elliott Means |
"Communication" |
1937 |
plaster relief |
|
Ticonderoga |
Frederick Massa |
"Exhortation of Ethan Allen" |
1940 |
oil on canvas |
|
Tonawanda |
Symeon Shimin |
contemporary Tonawanda |
1943 |
fresco (destroyed) |
|
|
Waldo Peirce |
"Rip Van Winkle" and "Legends of the Hudson" |
1939 |
oil on canvas |
|
Wappingers Falls |
Henry Billings |
first mill on Wappingers Creek in 1780 and textile mills in Wappingers Falls in 1880 |
1940 |
oil/walnut |
|
Waverly |
Musa McKim |
"Spanish Hill and the Early Inhabitants of the Vicinity" |
1939 |
oil on canvas |
|
Westhampton Beach |
Sol Wilson |
"Outdoor Sports" |
1942 |
oil on canvas |
|
Whitehall |
Axel Horn |
"Settlement of Skenesborough" |
1940 |
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
© 2005 Nancy Lorance
All Rights Reserved.