ADDRESS: 212 Miner Ave. W. Ladysmith, Wisconsin 54848
ARTIST: Elsa Jemne
TITLE: Development of The Land
MEDIUM: Fresco (mural)
STATUS: The mural is no longer viewable, having either been destroyed or painted over. None of my research has confirmed the fate of this artwork. There is an original black and white photograph on file at the National Archives, College Park Maryland for viewing.
YEAR: 1938
Last week I was up in Wisconsin volunteering on the Ice Age Trail. When I finished on Sunday I though I’d drive up to Ladysmith. I was excited when I first saw the building. It is a classic WPA era building with the signature corner-stone on the lower left of the building.
When I initially looked into this one I noticed it was listed as having a mural. When I visited it was a Sunday and the building was closed. I tried to peer through the windows but could not see the mural. So while I was sitting outside, I checked my phone and found out this one had been painted over. “Painted Over” I said out loud to myself. How could artwork like this be painted over?
For a look at what the mural once looked like please visit the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
I know absolutely nothing about the circumstances surrounding the history of this building or the mural that once graced the lobby. So Ladysmith is another one of those post office I’ll need to re-visit and research more. I have a burning desire to find out what the mural looked like and maybe just maybe gain enough interest to maybe find out if its possible to recover it. If the painting can’t be recovered, I wonder if it would be possible to have another local artist re-create the mural as a sort of reminder what was once there. Food for thought as I sit here and think about it.
Does anyone else know about the Ladysmith Wisconsin Post Office? Does anyone happen to have any old photographs of this building or the mural that once existed here? I’d love to hear from you?
Thanks for stopping by,
David W. Gates Jr.
Sources
- Personal visit on 7/26/2012 by David W. Gates Jr.
- Wisconsin Post Office Murals by David W. Gates Jr.
- Wisconsin Post Office Mural Guidebook by David W. Gates Jr.
- United States Postal Service
- (affiliate link) Democratic Vistas: Post Offices and Public Art in the New Deal
: [Hardcover] Marlene Park, Gerald E. Markowitz
- Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) (https://americanart.si.edu)
