The Section of Fine Arts, U.S. Department of the Treasury, 1934-1944

This artwork was commissioned for the Lakeview Post Office, Illinois, in 1937 by the former United States Department of the Treasury Section of Painting and Sculpture, later known as the Section of Fine Arts, or simply the Section. The Treasury Department was responsible for the construction and furnishing of all Federal buildings during this period. As a part of the decoration of postal facilities during the Franklin Delano Roosevelt administration, artists were commissioned to create murals and sculptures for postal facilities across the county by the Section from 1934 to 1944. Unlike the Works Progress Administration program, with which it is often confused, the Section was not directed towards providing relief for artists. Instead, it sought to provide murals and sculpture for newly constructed federal buildings from project funding appropriations. Artists were selected to create artwork under this program by means of national and regional competition. For this reason, many of the artists selected were among the most talented artists of their era with the intent of decorating new Federal buildings with the best in American art.

By the time the New Deal Arts Programs ended in 1944 due to the Second World War, 1,200 murals and 300 sculptures had been commissioned by the Treasury Department for placement in postal facilities. Today, it is believed that 1,000 murals and 200 sculptures remain in the Postal collection. These murals and sculptures form a vital part of America’s national heritage, as they comprise the only comprehensive public collection portraying the culture and character of the American people within a given era.