St. Johns' historic WPA-era murals covered up * Oregon ArtsWatch

"The large WPA-era murals from 1936 in the former St. Johns Post Office at 8720 N. Ivanhoe St., Portland, have been covered up by the current building owner, the Portland Bahá'í Center, because of objections to the display. The faith group, which has owned the building since 1992, is seeking to have the murals relocated. The massive murals are high on opposite sides of the foyer of the old post office building and offer a depiction of the history and industrial development"

"These and similar New Deal murals were painted in post offices throughout the U.S. during the Great Depression to boost national morale and share art with everyday people. The murals were commissioned by the Treasury Department with a different mission in mind than the Works Progress Administration. The goal was not to create jobs, but to underwrite high-quality public art by established artists. John Ballator was chosen as the main artist for the project. Assistants were Eric Lamade and Louis DeMott Bunce."

"Bunce became a legendary Northwest painter. Ballator was a painter, muralist, and art educator who later founded the Roanoke Fine Arts Center. Lamade was a wood sculptor and painter who went on to create artwork and sculpture for Timberline Lodge as well as murals for Portland public schools."

The 1936 WPA-era murals in the former St. Johns Post Office at 8720 N. Ivanhoe St. have been covered by the Portland Bahá'í Center following objections to the display. The faith group has owned the building since 1992 and is seeking relocation of the panels. The murals occupy opposite sides of the foyer and depict St. Johns history and industrial development, highlighting major pioneers and leaders. New Deal post office murals were painted during the Great Depression to boost national morale and share art with everyday people, commissioned by the Treasury Department to underwrite high-quality public art rather than to create jobs. John Ballator led the project with assistants Eric Lamade and Louis DeMott Bunce; all three later became established artists. The murals show limited representation of women, no people of color, and pronounced class divisions with idealized workers shown operating machinery.

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