USA Post Office Murals Florence Rockville Anadarko Forever USA Sheet of 10 Stamp

USA Post Office Murals Florence Rockville Anadarko Forever USA Sheet of 10 Stamps MNH

Post Office lobby artwork painted in the 1930s and 1940s was celebrated today with the issuance of the Post Office Murals Forever stamps. The U.S. Postal Service dedicated the stamps today during a first-day-of-issue ceremony at the Piggott Main Post Office in Piggott, AR. The public is asked to share the news on social media using the hashtags #PostOfficeMurals and #MuralStamps.

“Scores of wonderful murals illuminate Post Office lobbies across the nation and these stamps help celebrate them as American treasures,” said Pat Mendonca, U.S. Postal Service Senior Director, Office of the Postmaster General and Chief Executive Officer, who dedicated the stamps.

“The magnificent Air Mail mural, by Daniel Rhodes, located here at the Piggott Post Office, shows a local letter carrier helping pilots load bags of mail onto their plane. The mural represents postal employees’ commitment to serving our customers and communities across the United States. And that commitment to service continues today,” added Mendonca.

The origin of Post Office murals can be traced back to 1933. That year, in a letter to longtime acquaintance President Franklin D. Roosevelt, artist George Biddle suggested that the U.S. government should commission artists in need of work to enliven the walls of public buildings. Later that year, perhaps spurred by Biddle’s plea, the Roosevelt administration established the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP). Funded by the Civil Works Administration and overseen by the Department of the Treasury, the New Deal program led to the hiring of more than 3,700 artists.

Under PWAP leader Edward Bruce, the artists were encouraged to depict an American scene, a style of painting that eschewed modern trends and focused on the idealized portrayal of daily life in America. In less than a year, the artists created thousands of murals, stand-alone paintings, and sculptures.

Following the expiration of the PWAP in 1934, the U.S. Treasury formed the Section of Painting and Sculpture. Eventually renamed the Section of Fine Arts, the Bruce-helmed initiative sought to brighten newly built Post Office locations and federal buildings. From 1934 through 1943, the Section commissioned more than 1,000 murals. From 1935 through 1939, the Treasury Relief Art Project also funded a small number of murals at existing Post Offices. The buildings were some of the country’s most widely trafficked public spaces, which meant many people could enjoy the murals.

The Section of Fine Arts folded during World War II, but not before commissioning murals for Post Office locations in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Joining Mendonca in the ceremony was Piggott Postmaster Stephanie N. Jett, Piggott Mayor Travis Williams, Arkansas Parks and Recreation Chairman John Gill and Piggott Elementary School student Brooklyn Harmon.

Also joining in the ceremony was Aaron Rhodes, the son of Daniel Rhodes, the artist who painted the “Air Mail” mural inside the Piggott Post Office.

“My father’s artistic energies found expression in a variety of forms over the course of his career and his Works Progress Administration sponsored murals were his foundation,” said Aaron Rhodes. “His murals depict people like those he knew and identified with growing up in a small midwestern community and were a bridge to his future as a ceramic artist, teacher and author."

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