New Deal/WPA Art in Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh
Article entitled "Pittsburgh
WPA Artists Paint Murals in Zoo," from the WPA Review, Vol.
A No. 7, May 1941.
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 |
|
Aliquippa |
Niles Spencer |
"Western Pennsylvania" |
1938 |
oil on canvas |
|
Allentown |
Gifford Beal |
(ten panels) |
1939 |
oil on canvas |
|
Altoona |
Lorin Thompson |
"Pioneers of Altoona" and "Growth of the Road" |
1938 |
oil on canvas |
|
Altoona |
Sterling Smeltzer |
untitled |
no date |
(funded by PWAP) |
|
Ambler |
Harry Sternberg |
"The Family - Industry and Agriculture" |
1939 |
oil on canvas |
|
Athens |
Allan D. Jones, Jr. |
"General Sullivan at Tioga Point" |
1941 |
oil on canvas |
|
Bangor |
Barbara Crawford |
"Slate Belt People" |
1941 |
mural |
|
Beaver Falls |
Eugene Higgins |
"The Armistice Letter" |
1938 |
oil on canvas |
|
Belle Vernon |
Michael Loew |
"Men of Coal and Steel" |
1942 |
oil on canvas |
|
Blawnox |
Mildred Jerome |
"The Steel Worker and Family" |
1941 |
wood relief |
|
Bloomsburg |
Roy King |
"Pennsylvania Farming" |
1937 |
walnut relief |
|
Boyertown |
Moissaye Marans |
"Harvest," "Transfer of Skill," "Education," and "Barnyard" |
1941 |
plaster reliefs |
|
|
Walter Carnelli |
"Smelting" |
1941 |
fresco (destroyed) |
|
|
Richard Lahey |
"Showing the People in the Early Days Transfering from Stagecoach to Boat" |
1936 |
oil on canvas |
|
Burgettstown |
John F. Folinsbee (Peter Cook, assistant) |
"View of Burgettstown" |
1942 |
oil on canvas |
|
|
Saul Berman |
"Monongahela River" |
1939 |
oil on canvas |
|
Canonsburg |
Peter Blume |
"Beatty's Barns" |
1937 |
oil on canvas |
|
Catasauqua |
F. Luis Mora |
"Arrival of the Stage" |
1936 |
oil on canvas |
|
Chester |
Erwin Springweiler |
"William Penn" |
1938 |
metal |
|
Clarks Summit |
Harry P. Camden |
"Communication by Mail" |
1939 |
aluminum |
|
Columbia |
Bruce Mitchell |
"Columbia Bridge" |
1938 |
oil on canvas |
|
Conshohocken |
Robert I. Russin |
"Steel Workers" |
1942 |
wood relief |
|
Coraopolis |
Nena de Brennecke |
"Raccoon, Deer and Fox" |
1940 |
three wood reliefs |
|
Coudersport |
Ernest Lohrmann |
"Lumbering in Potter County, 1815 - 1920" |
1939 |
plaster relief |
|
Danville |
Jean de Marco |
"Iron Pouring" |
1941 |
aluminum |
|
Doylestown |
Charles Child |
"William Markham Purchases Bucks County Territory" |
1937 |
oil on canvas |
|
Drexel Hill |
Concetta Scaravaglione |
"Aborigines" |
1942 |
wood relief |
|
East Stroudsburg |
Bennett Kassler |
"Comunication" |
1937 |
sculpture |
|
Elizabethtown |
Lee Gatch |
"Squaw's Rest" |
1942 |
oil on canvas |
|
Erie, |
Henry Kreis |
"American Youth" |
1940 |
aluminum (2) |
|
Everett |
Hazel Clere |
"Signing of the Constitution" |
1940 |
plaster |
|
Farrel |
Virginia Wood (Riggs) |
"Myths of Vulcan and Juno" |
1939 |
mural (painted over in 1966) |
|
Ford City |
Josephine Mather |
"Glass Making" |
1941 |
Carrara structural glass, ivory color |
|
Freeland |
John F. Folinsbee |
"Freeland" |
1938 |
oil on canvas |
|
Girard |
Janet De Coux |
"Vacation Time" |
1942 |
wood relief (in storage) |
|
Hamburg |
Nathaniel Kaz |
"Home" |
1941 |
wood relief |
|
Honesdale |
Walter Gardner |
"Canal Boat," "Clearing the Wilderness," "Coal," "Gravity Railroad," and "Visit by Washington Irving" |
1937 |
oil on canvas (funded by Section and TRAP) |
|
Irwin |
Chaim Gross |
"Puddlers" |
1942 |
wood relief |
|
Jeannette |
Frank T. Olson (design) and Alexander J. Kostellow |
"Glass Industry" and "Battle of Bushy Run" |
1938 |
oil on canvas |
|
Jenkintown |
Herschel Levit |
"General Washington's Troops on Old York Road" |
1942 |
tempera (stored in High School) |
|
Johnstown |
Louis Slobodkin |
eagles |
1938 |
granite |
|
Kutztown |
Judson Smith |
"Rural Route Number One" |
1937 |
oil on canvas |
|
Lititz |
Joseph Nicolosi |
"The Moravian Communion - Lititz Springs Picnic" |
1941 |
wood relief |
|
Mahonoy City |
Malvina Hoffman |
"Coal Miners Returning from Work" |
1939 |
plaster |
|
McDonald |
August Jaegers |
"Agriculture and Industry" |
1937 |
plaster relief (aluminum finished) |
|
Manheim |
Theresa Bernstein |
"The First Orchestra in America" |
1938 |
oil on canvas |
|
Masontown |
Harry Leith-Ross |
"General Lafayette Is Welcomed at Friendship Hill by Mr. and Mrs. Albert Gallatin on May 27, 1825" |
1941 |
mural |
|
|
Lorin Thompson |
"Clearing the Land" |
1940 |
oil on canvas |
|
Mercersburg |
Joseph Nicolosi |
"Good News" |
1938 |
plaster relief |
|
Meyersdale |
Fred De Lorenzo |
"Harvesters at Rest" |
1940 |
plaster relief |
|
Midland |
Humbert Albrizio |
"Steel Workers" |
1940 |
sculpture |
|
Mifflinburg |
Bennett Kassler |
"Pioneers of the Community" |
1941 |
plaster reliefs (four panels) |
|
Milton |
Louis A. Maene |
"Transportation" |
1936 |
bronze plaque and seven stone reliefs (funded by TRAP) |
|
Morrisville |
Yngve Soderberg |
"Canal Era" |
1939 |
mural |
|
Mount Pleasant |
Alexander Sambugnac |
"Air Mail" |
1937 |
plaster relief |
|
Mount Union |
Paul Rohland |
"The Union of the Mountains" |
1937 |
oil on canvas |
|
Muncy |
John W. Beauchamp |
"Rachel Silverthorne's Ride" |
1938 |
oil on canvas |
|
|
Ryah Ludins |
"Cement Industry" |
1938 |
oil on canvas |
|
Norristown |
Paul Mays |
"Local Industry" and "U.S. Mail" |
1936 |
oil on canvas |
|
North East |
Leo Lentelli |
"The Town Crier" |
1937 |
cast stone |
|
Northampton |
Maurice Glickman |
"Physical Changes of the Postman through the Ages" |
1939 |
cast stone relief |
|
Northumberland |
Dina Melicov |
"Dr. Joseph Priestley" |
1942 |
red mahogany relief |
|
Oakmont |
Franc Epping |
"Allegheny River" |
1942 |
terra-cotta relief |
|
Palmyra |
Alice Decker |
"Reaping," "The Oldest Church in the Valley," and "Ploughing" |
1940 |
wood reliefs |
|
Philadelphia, |
George Harding |
"Custom House and Court Activities" and "Various Port Activities in Philadelphia" |
1938 |
mural |
|
Philadelphia, |
Moses and Raphael Soyer |
"Philadelphia Waterways with Ben Franklin Bridge" and "View of Downtown Philadelphia Skyline" |
1939 |
oil on canvas |
|
Philadelphia, |
George Harding |
"Mail Delivery," "City," "Country," "Northern Coast," "Office," "Home," "Tropics," and "History of Mail Transportation by Water" |
1939 |
tempera |
|
Philadelphia, |
Robert E. Larter |
"Iron Plantation near Southwark - 1800" and "Shipyards at Southward - 1800" |
1938 |
oil on canvas |
|
Philadelphia, |
Walter Gardner |
"Streets of Philadelphia |
1938 |
oil on canvas |
|
Philadelphia, |
Edmond R. Amateis |
"Mail Delivery - North, South, East, West" |
1941 |
stone, facade (4 panels) |
|
Philadelphia, |
Donald De Lue |
"Law," "Justice," and two eagles |
1940 |
sculpture |
|
Pittsburgh, |
Howard Cook |
"Steel Industry" |
1936 |
fresco |
|
Pittsburgh, |
Kindred McLeary |
"Modern Justice" |
1937 |
mural (painted over) |
|
Pittsburgh, |
Stuyvesant Van Veen |
"Pittsburgh Panorama" |
1937 |
oil on canvas |
|
Pittsburgh, |
Alan Thompson |
"History of Squirrel Hill" |
1942 |
oil on canvas |
|
Pittston |
Marion Walton |
"Indian," "Mine elevator," and "Campbell's Ledge" |
1942 |
limestone reliefs |
|
Plymouth |
Jared French |
"Meal Time with the Early Coal Miners" |
1938 |
oil on canvas |
|
Quakertown |
Bertram Goodman |
"Quaker Settlers" |
1938 |
oil on canvas |
|
Renovo |
Harold Lehman |
"Locomotive Repair Operation" |
1943 |
oil on canvas |
|
Roaring Springs |
Elizabeth Shannon Phillips |
"Mountain Landscape" |
1942 |
oil on canvas |
|
|
Harry Scheuch |
"Local Life and Industries" |
1942 |
oil on canvas (3 panels) |
|
Scranton, |
Herman Maril |
"Nature's Storehouse" |
1941 |
oil on canvas |
|
Sellersville |
Harry Sternberg |
"Carrying the Mail" |
1937 |
tempera |
|
Sellinsgrove |
George Rickey |
"Susquehanna Trail" |
1939 |
tempera |
|
Somerset |
Alexander J. Kostellow |
"Somerset - Farm Scene" |
1941 |
oil on canvas |
|
Swarthmore |
Milton Horn |
"The Spirit of the Post" |
1937 |
wood relief |
|
Tunkhannock |
Ethel V. Ashton |
"Defenders of the Wyoming Country - 1778" |
1941 |
oil on canvas |
|
Turtle Creek |
Mildred Jerome |
"Treaty of William Penn and the Indians" |
1939 |
wood relief |
|
Union City |
Vincent Glinsky |
"The Lumberman" |
1941 |
wood relief |
|
Vandergrift |
Fred Hogg, Jr. |
"Railroad Postal Service" |
1939 |
oil on canvas |
|
Wayne |
Alfred D. Crimi |
"Anthony Wayne" |
1941 |
oil on canvas |
|
Wilkes Barre, |
George Harding |
"Anthracite Coal" |
1941 |
tempera |
|
Wyomissing |
Cesare Stea |
"Industry" |
1941 |
terra-cotta relief |
|
York |
George Kratina |
"Prayer of Thanksgiving" |
1946 |
wood |
|
York |
Carl L. Schmitz |
"Singing Thanksgiving" |
1946 |
wood |
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
*information provided by Lynne Shuey, Bindnagle Lutheran Church
© 2006 Nancy Lorance
All Rights Reserved.