So, I have been spending a lot more time at my local post office these days. Actually, it’s the first time in years I have been in any post office. I fondly remember living in the UK in the 70s and, as a budding philatelist, queuing up to buy the latest first edition stamps from the Royal Mail. It seemed, at the time, that that was primarily how the Royal Mail sustained itself. A quick glance at their web site today suggests stamp collecting has fallen out of favor. That’s the internet for you—obviating scarcity and rareness—thanks!
Anywhooo. . .my Chestnut Hill post office, besides having peeling walls and ceilings and, apparently, no AC, as evidenced by the strong breeze coming through un-screened open windows, does have art. In fact, this mural, which I mistook for WPA work, is in fact, by a group of similar artists, referred to as “the Section,” and they operated roughly at the same time as the WPA group, and the art is referred at as “the New Deal Art.”
This mural is attributed to a William Abbott Cheever, and is entitled, ““The Reverend John Eliot Preaching to the Indians” and was painted in 1941. Looks like it needs some cleaning, and I do wonder what the elements do to it.
It was a nice little surprise, though, and I look forward to visiting it and studying it some more.
For more information about New Deal Art in Massachusetts take a look here.
