THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT commissioned over 1,100 murals for the embellishment of post offices nationwide. Tennessee received 30 of these murals. After nearly 86 years, the story of their existence is elusive and often overlooked. Gates’s research of the correspondence between the artists and government tells of how the murals were developed and eventually installed in small towns throughout Tennessee.
Tennessee Post Office Murals is packed with fascinating details:
- 123 full-color images of the murals
- 54 images of the buildings and cornerstones
- Full-color map with the location of each town
- The history and story of each mural
Written to educate and to promote these wonderful Depression-era works of art and buildings, Tennessee Post Office Murals is a must-have for any New Deal, history, art historian, or post office enthusiast. If you’ve ever been to any of the 28 post offices written about here and asked yourself, Why is there a mural in the lobby or Who is the artist who painted the mural on the wall, this is the book for you.
What others are saying:
Having restored over 200 post office murals across the country, I had always wished for more detailed books. Finally, we find an author who delivers. David W. Gates Jr. does a fantastic job with the history of each mural, providing context and backstory not found in other books. For fans of post office murals everywhere, Mr. Gates may be the perfect chronicler.”
-Elizabeth Kendall, Director, PA, AIC | Parma Conservation, Ltd.
I am delighted that this book will encourage more people to discover the wonderful Post Office murals in Tennessee which still capture hearts and minds. As the late Tennessee State Historian Wilma Dykeman wrote in 1990 in the Knoxville News-Sentinel, Minna Citron’s murals ‘make people friends across time and geography.’ Minna’s murals continue to fascinate us with their depiction of life during the Great Depression.”
-Christiane Citron, Granddaughter of the artist Minna Citron
Documenting Post Office works of art fro the 1930s is a real public service, an important contribution to their conservation. Gates (aka Post Office Fans) helps us appreciate them with photos and interesting creation stories.”
-Toby McIntosh, Author of Apple Picking, Tobacco Harvesting and General Lee: Arlington’s New Deal Murals and Muralist
I recently had the opportunity to talk with David W. Gates Jr. about his passion of researching Post Office murals. His knowledge and passion for the subject is wonderful. I look forward to seeing and reading his latest efforts and most especially those from Tennessee.”
-Dian Berryman McGuire, Executive Director, Beech Lake Cultural Center and Museum
