Purcell, Oklahoma Post Office Mural The Roundup by Frederick Conway. (original) (raw)
"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
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