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List of New Deal murals

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City Life, one of the Coit Tower murals in San Francisco, Calif.

The List of New Deal murals is a list of murals created in the United States as part of a federally sponsored New Deal project. This list excludes murals placed in post offices, which are listed in List of United States post office murals. Source is Park and Markowitz’s Democratic Vistas unless otherwise specified.

Alabama

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed
History Museum of Mobile[1] John Augustus Walker

Alaska

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed

Arizona

[edit]
Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed

Arkansas

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed

California

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed
George Washington High School (San Francisco) Life of Washington Victor Arnautoff 1936 13 scenes [2]
Santa Monica Public Library Invention and Imagination Stanton Macdonald-Wright 1935
Coit Tower Metropolitan Life[3] Victor Arnautoff
Canoga Park High School Assembly Hall (2)[4] Helen Lundeberg Petrachrome
Mother's House, Fleishhacker Playground End walls of the loggia[5] Helen Bell Bruton, Margaret Bruton Tile mosaic PWAP
Mother's House, Fleishhacker Playground Evolution of Noah's Ark Dorothy Puccinelli, Helen Forbes Tempera PWAP
Los Angeles County Hall of Records Landing of Cabrillo — 1542[6] Charles H. Davis Tempera FAP
Recreations of Long Beach[6] Stanton Macdonald-Wright, Henry Allen Nord, Albert King Mosaic FAP

Colorado

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed
Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, Colorado Springs[7] “Classic American theater”[8] Ward Lockwood 1935–36[9] slated for removal[9]

Connecticut

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed

Delaware

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed

District of Columbia

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New Deal art was installed in the Social Security building (now HHS), the Department of the Interior, the Department of Justice building, the Department of Labor building (now Customs and Immigration), the Apex building (now Federal Trade Commission), the Government Printing Office Annex, the Home Owners Loan Corporation, the National Zoological Park, the District of Columbia Recorder of Deeds building, the Procurement Division Building (now National Capitol Region Office Building, General Services Administration), and the War Department (now Department of State).[10]

Elsewhere than government building

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed
Howard University Emancipation of the American Negro[11] Daniel Boza 1938

Social Security Building

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed
Social Security Building Sports Related to Food Dorothy Farr, Fred Farr 1941 Stored in National Museum of American Art
Social Security Building Wealth of the Nation, Security of the People Seymour Fogel 1942
Social Security Building Activities of Four Parts of the Country Gertrude Goodrich 1943 Stored in National Museum of American Art
Social Security Building Reconstruction and Well-Being of the Family Philip Guston 1942 Stage curtain in auditorium non-mural, non-sculpture
Social Security Building Mountains in Snow Jenne Magafan, Ethel Magafan 1949
Social Security Building Work, the Family, and Social Security, Child Labor, Unemployment, and Old Age Ben Shahn 1942 fresco

Main Interior Building

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed
Main Interior Building Dance Festival James Auchiah 1939
Main Interior Building Conservation of the National Parks Gifford Beal 1941
Main Interior Building Conservation—Western Lands Louis Bouche 1938 ”in storage” circa 1984
Main Interior Building Desert, Irrigation, Gathering Dates, Apples Nicolai Cikovsky 1938
Main Interior Building Deer, Peyote Bird and Symbols, Stealing Horses, Flute Player, Courting, Buffalo Hunt Woodrow Crumbo 1940 Native American artist
Main Interior Building Rush for the Oklahoma Land—1889 and The Homesteading John Steuart Curry 1939
Main Interior Building Bureau of Indian Affairs Maynard Dixon 1939
Main Interior Building Placer Mining, Fighting Forest Fire, and Winter Round-Up Ernest Fiene 1938
Main Interior Building Construction of the Dam William Gropper 1939
Main Interior Building “Indian themes” Velino Herrera 1939 Nine panels
Main Interior Building Singing Love Songs and Apache Round Dance Allan C. Houser 1940
Main Interior Building Indian Murals Allan C. Houser and Gerald Nailor date unknown
Main Interior Building National Parks David McCosh 1940
Main Interior Building Indian Theme Stevan Mopope 1939
Main Interior Building Hunting Ground and Initiation Ceremony Gerald Nailor 1940
Main Interior Building Alaska and Insular Possessions James Michael Newell 1939
Main Interior Building Conservation of Wildlife Henry Varnum Poor 1939 Fresco
Main Interior Building The Negro’s Contribution in the Social and Cultural Development of America Millard Sheets 1943 The Arts, Religion, Education, Science

Department of Justice

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed
Department of Justice Contemporary Justice and Man John Ballator 1937 tempera
Department of Justice Society Freed Through Justice George Biddle 1936 Fresco
Department of Justice Contemporary Justice and Woman Emil Bisttram 1939 oil on canvas
Department of Justice Activities of the Department of Justice Louis Bouche 1937 oil on canvas
Department of Justice Movement of the Population Westward, Law Versus Mob Rule John Steuart Curry 1937 oil on canvas
Department of Justice The Triumph of Justice, The Defeat of Justice Leon Kroll 1937 oil on canvas
Department of Justice Justice Department Bureaus and Divisions Henry Varnum Poor 1936 fresco
Department of Justice Great Events and Figures of the Law Boardman Robinson 1936 tempera
Department of Justice Contemporary Justice—the Child Symeon Shimin 1940 tempera
Department of Justice Man’s Struggle for Justice Maurice Sterne 1941 oil on board; 20 panels

Department of Labor Building

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed
Department of Labor Construction, Power, and Transportation Charles Trumbo Henry 1938 oil on canvas

National Zoo

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed
National Zoo Noah’s Ark, Habitat Backgrounds in Bird and Pachyderm Houses Domenico Mortellito 1937 mural

Washington, D.C. Recorder of Deeds

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed
D.C. Recorder of Deeds Crispus Attucks Herschel Levit 1943
D.C. Recorder of Deeds The Death of Colonel Shaw at Fort Wagner Carlos Lopez 1943
D.C. Recorder of Deeds The Battle of New Orleans Ethel Magafan 1943
D.C. Recorder of Deeds Matthew Henson Planting the American Flag at the North Pole Austin Mecklem 1943
D.C. Recorder of Deeds Cyrus Tiffany at the Battle of Lake Erie Martyl Schweig 1943
D.C. Recorder of Deeds Frederick Douglass Appeals to President Lincoln William Edouard Scott 1943
D.C. Recorder of Deeds Benjamin Banneker Maxine Seelbinder 1943

Procurement Division Building

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed
Procurement Division Building Construction of Treasury buildings and Procurement Division activities Harold Weston 1936–38 TRAP, 22 panels, oil on canvas

Florida

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed

Georgia

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed

Hawaii

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed

Idaho

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed

Illinois

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed
Legler Library, Chicago Father Marquette's Winter in Chicago Richard Fayerweather Babcock 1934 [12]

Indiana

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed

Iowa

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed

Kansas

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed

Kentucky

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed

Louisiana

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed

Maine

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed

Maryland

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed

Massachusetts

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed

Michigan

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed
East Lansing, Michigan
Auditorium, MSU
Proclamation of Emancipation Charles Pollock 1943 [13]
We Assure Freedom to the Free 1944 [13]
The Modern Man I Sing [13]
Lansing, Michigan
John F Dye Water Conditioning Plant
Beneficial Force of Water Frank Cassara 1940 [13]
Water as Destructive Element [13]
Water as Hydro-Electric Power Charles Pollock [13]

Minnesota

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed

Mississippi

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed

Missouri

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed

Montana

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed

Nebraska

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed

Nevada

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed

New Hampshire

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed
Federal Building (Laconia, New Hampshire) Wildlife in White Mountains Musa McKim 1941 Former U.S. Forestry Building[14] [15]

New Jersey

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[16][11]

Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed
Newark City Hall History of Newark Michael Lenson
Weequahic High School History of the Enlightenment of Man Michael Lenson
Roosevelt Community Center Social and political liberty and justice Ben Shahn
Atlantic City Stanley Holmes Village Education of the Colored Man Aaron Douglas
Camden Westfield Acres Industrial Scenes Grace Greenwood, Marion Greenwood, buildings demolished; National Archives images of murals (?)
Newark Museum Mechanics of Flying, Aerial Map Arshile Gorky 1937 2 of original 10 survive; originally at Newark Airport Admin Bldg.[17]

New Mexico

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed
Rogers Hall
New Mexico Highlands University
Las Vegas
Dissemination of Education on New Mexico Lloyd Moylan 1937 NRHP[18]
Alamagordo Federal Building Sun and Rain, Sorghum, Yucca Peter Hurd 1940 fresco
Santa Fe Santiago E. Campos United States Courthouse Old Santa Fe Trail, Taos Mountains, Monument Rock, Acoma, Old Cuba Road, Cabezon[11] William Penhallow Henderson Six panels, TRAP, begun under PWAP 1974

New York

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed

North Carolina

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed

North Dakota

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[10]

Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed

Ohio

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed
Lakeview Terrace Housing Project, Cleveland Legends and Fairy Tales[11] Earl J. Neff 1938 Mural frieze
Lakeview Terrace Housing Project, Cleveland Children Playing Charles Campbell (artist) 1938 2 murals
United States Industrial Reformatory, Chillicothe Vocational Training in the Reformatory E. Paul Wilhelm 1938 2 murals

Oklahoma

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed

Oregon

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed

Pennsylvania

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed

Puerto Rico

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed

Rhode Island

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed

South Carolina

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed
Aiken Justice as Protector and Avenger Stefan Hirsch 1938 oil on canvas
Charles E. Simons Jr. Federal Court House
Controversy once caused the mural to be covered and only visible to the public upon request[19]

South Dakota

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed

Tennessee

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed

Texas

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed
Eldon B. Mahon United States Courthouse, Fort Worth The Taking of Sam Bass Frank Mechau 1940 oil on canvas[20]
Eldon B. Mahon United States Courthouse, Fort Worth Texas Rangers in Camp Frank Mechau 1940 oil on canvas[20]
Eldon B. Mahon United States Courthouse, Fort Worth Flags Over Texas Frank Mechau 1940 oil on canvas[20]

Utah

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed

Vermont

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed

Virgin Islands

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed

Virginia

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed

Washington

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed

Wisconsin

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed

Wyoming

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Location Mural title Image Artist Date Notes NRHP
listed

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "In his own words: the story of Lynchburg freedman Charley Mitchell". Appetite 4 History. 2016-09-07. Retrieved 2023-11-26.
  2. ^ "A school's mural removal: Should kids be shielded from brutal US history?". TheGuardian.com. 20 May 2019.
  3. ^ Gelber, Steven M. (1979-07-01). "Working to Prosperity: California's New Deal Murals". California History. 58 (2): 98–127. doi:10.2307/25157905. ISSN 0162-2897. JSTOR 25157905.
  4. ^ “The WPA Projects: PUBLIC ART THROUGHOUT THE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY." Los Angeles Times, Nov 13, 1994, pp. 1.
  5. ^ "The San Francisco Examiner 14 Jan 1934, page 44". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2023-02-22.
  6. ^ a b South, Will; Yoshiki-Kovinick, Marian; Armstrong-Totten, Julia (2008). A seed of modernism: the Art Students League of Los Angeles, 1906–1953. Pasadena, Calif. : Berkeley, Calif: Pasadena Museum of California Art ; Heyday Books. p. 41. ISBN 978-1-59714-076-8. OCLC 144547803.
  7. ^ "University of California: In Memoriam, April 1964". texts.cdlib.org. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
  8. ^ "Classic American Theater Characters". PeakRadar.com. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
  9. ^ a b "Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center to remove controversial murals | Arts & Entertainment | gazette.com". gazette.com. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
  10. ^ a b Park, Marlene; Markowitz, Gerald E. (1984). Democratic Vistas: Post Offices and Public Art in the New Deal. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. ISBN 0-87722-348-3. OCLC 10877506.
  11. ^ a b c d The Art Digest 1938-07-01: Vol 12 Iss 18. Arts Communications Group, L.P. 1938-07-01.
  12. ^ Gray, Mary Lackritz, A Guide to Chicago’s Murals, foreword by Franz Schulze, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2002 pp.108-109
  13. ^ a b c d e f New Deal, Government Architecture, Murals & Sculpture of the 1930s & 1940s: A Walking Tour of East Lansing & Lansing, photographs from the Balthazar Korab Collection, 1988
  14. ^ "Forestry Building Murals – Laconia NH". The Living New Deal. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
  15. ^ "NP Gallery, Forestry Building". National Park Service. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
  16. ^ York, Hildreth; White, Stuart (1980-03-23). "Stalking the Post Office Mural: An Artful Odyssey". The New York Times. p. NJ1.
  17. ^ L.shirey, David (1982-06-13). "ART; GORKY'S AIRPORT MURALS AT THE NEWARK MUSEUM". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-10-15.
  18. ^ Flynn, Kathryn A., Treasures on New Mexico Trails: Discover New Deal Art and Architecture , Sunstone Press, Santa Fe, New Mexico 1995 p. 61
  19. ^ Marling, Karal A. (1982). Wall-to-Wall America : A Cultural History of Post Office Murals in the Great Depression (First ed.). University of Minnesota Press. pp. 300 to 364. ISBN 9780816611171.
  20. ^ a b c "Eldon B. Mahon U.S. Courthouse". General Services Administration. Retrieved November 15, 2022.