|
"The Roundup"
detail - Purcell Oklahoma PO mural by Frederick
Conway
TE photo, April 2009 |
| The Purcell post
office mural remains in place where it was installed in 1940, however
the installation was not as simple as it sounds. As explained in the
excellent book Wall to Wall America: Post Office Murals in the
Great Depression, author Karal Ann Marling gives the story of
two artists, two murals, a judging committee and some very unhappy
townspeople who voiced their preference (loudly) and got what they
wanted. |
Frederick
Conway
had originally been awarded the mural commission for Jackson, Missouri
with a sketch showing four cows in a bucolic setting. Artist James
Turnbull had submitted a more action-packed sketch showing cattle
being loaded onto railroad cars. It was decided that Turnbull’s mural
was to be placed in Purcell, Oklahoma but an outcry arose from the
people of Jackson who objected to the pastoral cows, wanting the more
up-to-date “Loading Cattle.”
The judges declared that Purcell, Oklahoma and Jackson, Missouri “switch”
muralists. This was done, but eventually, Purcell, Oklahoma ended
up with the mural shown here – a second work by Conway, not the original
work involved in the controversy. |
|
Purcell Oklahoma
Post Office mural "The Roundup" by Frederick
Conway
TE photo, April 2009 |
Purcell Oklahoma
PO mural "The Roundup" detail
TE photo, April 2009 |
Purcell Oklahoma
PO mural "The Roundup" detail
TE photo, April 2009 |
| Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories,
landmarks and vintage or recent photos, please contact
us. |
|
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