January 09, 2007 12:08 pm
—
By Jim Raykie
Editor, The Herald
If you know anything about a mural that had graced the walls of the Farrell Post Office for a couple of decades, author Dave Lembeck would like to get in touch with you.
Lembeck is researching a book about Pennsylvania post office art created during the New Deal. They were murals and sculptures installed in newly constructed or remodeled post offices during the Depression.
According to Lembeck, the Farrell Post Office received a mural called “Myths of Vulcan and June” painted by Virginia Wood (Riggs) in 1939. It is believed to have been painted over at the post office sometime in the early 1960s.
Of the works that were commissioned, about a dozen have been lost or destroyed, placing Farrell in that category.
In an e-mail he sent to me, Lembeck said, “Mostly I’m interested in talking with people who remember the mural. I wonder if it was painted over because it wasn’t liked (there’s a nude figure and that was often unpopular). It’s unusual in that it has a mythological theme. Most murals were concerned with heavy industry, agriculture or history.”
In addition to people who may remember the mural, he is looking for a photo the mural itself. The one accompanying this story, from the National Archives, isn’t all that great. “You can just barely make out the figures, but it might be enough to jog one’s memory,” Lembeck said.
If you have some recollection of the mural, you can contact Lembeck at dcl825@gmail.com
Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.
Photos
