Post Office New Deal Artwork WPA Art in Nebraska – 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 |
| Albion | Jenne Magafan | “Winter in Nebraska” | 1939 | oil on canvas |
| Auburn | Ethel Magafan | “Threshing” | 1938 | oil on canvas |
| Crawford | G. Glenn Newell | “The Crossing” | 1940 | oil on canvas |
| Geneva | Edward Chavez | “Building a Sod House” | 1941 | oil on canvas |
| Hebron | Eldora Lorenzini | “Stampeding Buffaloes Stopping the Train” | 1939 | oil on canvas |
| Minden | William E.L. Bunn | “Military Post on the Overland Trail” | 1939 | oil on canvas |
| Ogallala | Frank Mechau | “Long Horns” | 1938 | oil on canvas |
| O’Neil | Eugene Trentham | “Bailing Hay in Holt County in the Early Days” | 1938 | oil on canvas |
| Pawnee City | Kenneth Evett | “The Auction” | 1942 | oil on canvas |
| Red Cloud | Archie Musick | “Loading Cattle,” “Stockade Builders,” and “Moving Westward” | 1941 | oil on canvas |
| Schuyler | Philip von Saltza | “Wild Horses by Moonlight” | 1940 | oil on canvas |
| Valentine | Kady Faulkner | “End of the Line” | 1939 | oil on plaster |
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