Arkansas New Deal Art
New Deal/WPA Art in Arkansas - 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 |
| Benton (now Federal Building) |
Julius Woeltz | “The Bauxite Mines” | 1942 | mural |
| Berryville | Daniel Olney | “Man and Woman, Arkansas” | 1940 | sculpture |
| Clarksville | Mary M. Purser | “How Happy Was the Occasion” | 1939 | (missing) |
| Dardanelle, Post Office and Agriculture Building |
Ludwig Mactarian | “Cotton Growing, Manufacture and Export” | 1939 | oil on canvas |
| De Queen | Henry Simon | “Wild Life Conservation in Arkansas” | 1942 | oil on canvas |
| De Witt | William Traher | “Portrait of Contemporary De Witt” | 1941 | oil on canvas (3 panels) |
| Heber Springs | H. Louis Freund | “From Timber to Agriculture” | 1939 | oil on canvas |
| Lake Village | Avery Johnson | “Lake Country Wild Life” | 1941 | oil on canvas |
| Magnolia | Joe Jones | “Threshing” | 1938 | oil on canvas |
| Monticello | Berta Margoulies | “Tomato Culture” | 1941 | three terra-cotta reliefs |
| Morrilton | Richard Sargent | “Men at Rest” | 1939 | oil on canvas |
| Nashville | John T. Robertson | “Peach Growing” | 1939 | oil on canvas |
| Osceola | Orville Carroll | “Early Settlers of Osceola” | 1939 | mural |
| Paris | Joseph P. Vorst | “Rural Arkansas” | 1940 | oil on canvas |
| Piggot, Post Office and Agriculture Building |
Dan Rhodes | “Air Mail” | 1941 | oil on canvas |
| Pocahontas | H. Louis Freund | “Early Days and First Post Office in Pocahontas” | 1939 | mural |
| Siloam Springs | Bertrand R. Adams | “Lumbering in Arkansas” | 1940 | oil on canvas |
| Springdale | Natalie S. Henry | “Local Industries” | 1940 | mural |
| Van Buren | E. Martin Hennings | “The Chosen Site” | 1940 | oil on canvas |
| Wynne | Ethel Magafan | “Cotton Pickers” | 1940 | oil on canvas |
You can get an informative map entitled “A New Deal for Arkansas: Depression-Era Properties on the National Register of Historic Places” by writing to: the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, 1500 Tower Building, 323 Center Street, Little Rock, Arkansas 72201 or email info@arkansaspreservation.org.
This is a great page on Arkansas post offices: Arkansas Post Office Mural Project
