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You are here: Home / Archives for Alan Tompkins

Alan Tompkins

Alan Tompkins

Indiana Post Office Mural Artist

January 13, 2024 By David W. Gates Jr.

Jean Swiggett Franklin IN Artist
Jean Swiggett Franklin Indiana Artist

A total of thirty-six artist created murals in forty-two Indiana Post Office buildings during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Seven of the artist received multiple commissions as noted below. The artist and their awarded sites as listed below.

We have found having a list such as this is convenient when performing research at the National Archives Records and Administration. Any researcher will reveal, that finding information is part of the fun, somethings what you are looking for is catalogued by the artist name. Other times the research materials you need may be cataloged by the city or town, and so on.

Having a list to refer to is helpful on your journey of discovering these wonderful treasures in our nations post offices.

Indiana Post Office Mural Artist

Alexandria: Roland Author Schweinsburg
Angola: Charles Malcolm Campbell
Attica: Reva Jackman
Aurora: Henrik Martin Mayer*
Batesville: Orville A. Carroll
Bedford: John Fabion
Berne: Walter Gardner
Bloomfield: Lilian Swann Saarinen
Boonville: Ida York Abelman
Cambridge City: Samuel Franklin Hershey
Crawfordsville: Frank Weathers Long
Crown Point: George Melville Smith
Culver: Jessie Hull Mayer*
Danville: Gail Wycoff Martin
Dunkirk: Frances Foy Dalstrom
Fowler: Nat Werner
Franklin: Jean Swiggett
Gas City: William Adelbert Dolwick*
Garrett: Joe Cox
Hobart: William Adelbert Dolwick*
Indianapolis-Birch Bayh Federal Building: Grant Wright Christian*
Indianapolis-Birth Bayh Federal Building: David K. Rubins
Indianapolis-Broad Ripple: Alan Tompkins*
Jasper: Jessie Hull Mayer*
Knightstown: Raymond L. Morris
Lafayette: Henrik Martin Mayer*
Lagrange: Jessie Hull Mayer*
Liberty: Avery Johnson
Ligonier: Fay E. Davis
Martinsville: Alan Tompkins*
Middlebury: Raymond Redell
Monticello: Marguerite Thompson Zorach
Nappanee: Grant Wright Christian*
North Manchester: Alan Tompkins*
Paoli: Tom Rost
Pendleton: William Frederick Kaeser
Rensselaer: John Edward Costigan
Rockville: Milton Avery
Spencer: Joseph Meert
Tell City: Laci de Gerenday
Terre Haute: Frederick Webb Ross
Tipton: Donald Magnus Mattison*
Union City: Donald Magnus Mattison*

Henrick Martin Mayer
Jessie Hull Mayer
William Dolwick
Grant Wright Christian
Alan Tompkins
Donald Mattison

New Deal Artists Biographies NARA
New Deal Artists Biographies NARA
New Deal Artists Biographies NARA

Sources

  • David W. Gates Jr. on site visits to each location.
  • Indiana Post Office Mural Guidebook by David W. Gates Jr.
  • National Archives Records and Administration, College Park Maryland
  • Who was who in American Art, 1564-1975: 400 years of artist in America, Peter H Falk; Audrey M Lewis, Georgia Kuchen, Veronika Roessler, Madison, CT, Mount View Press. 1999.
  • Democratic Vistas: Post Offices and Public Art in the New Deal: [Hardcover]  Marlene Park, Gerald E. Markowitz

Filed Under: Artist, Indiana, Post Office Tagged With: Alan Tompkins, Artist, Avery Johnson, Charles Campbell, David K Rubins, Donald M Mattison, Fay Elizabeth Davis, Frances Foy, Frank Long, Frederick Webb Ross, Gail Wycoff Martin, George Melville Smith, Grant Christian, Henrik Martin Mayer, Ida Abelman, Indiana, Jean Swiggett, Jessie Hull Mayer, Joe Cox, John E Costigan, John Fabion, Joseph Meert, Laci de Gerenday, Lilian Swann Saarien, Marguerite Zorach, Milton Avery, Nat Werner, Orville Carroll, Raymond L Morris, Raymond Redell, Reva Jackman, Roland Schweinsburg, Samuel Franklin Hersey, Tom Rost, Walter Gardner, William A Dolwick, William Kaeser

Indianapolis Indiana Post Office Broad Ripple Station

November 14, 2021 By David W. Gates Jr.

Broad Ripple IN Post Office 46220
Broad Ripple IN Post Office 46220

ADDRESS: 6255 Carrollton Ave, Indianapolis, Indiana 46220
ARTIST: Alan Tompkins
TITLE: Suburban Street
MEDIUM: Oil on canvas (mural)
STATUS: The Indianapolis Broad Ripple Station post office is still an active, operating facility, and the mural can be viewed by interested members of the public. It resides in the lobby on a wall above the post office boxes.
YEAR: 1942

It doesn’t look like it would be difficult to photograph the cornerstone, but that evergreen bush did make this visit fun. I had to hold my entire body in front of the bush and hold my camera at a awkward angle just to get a crooked image of it. Funny! I guess I should learn photo editing software soon so I can fix them.

For those of you familiar with John Carlisle’s book, the Broad Ripple mural used for the cover of the book.

My visit was early on a Sunday, and they apparently do not keep the lobby open. Dang! I’ll have to revisit this one in the future for mural images, but for now, enjoy these early morning photos.

After reviewing a few of the images, it appears they remodeled the lobby. If you notice they converted the postmaster’s office into retail space for the post office boxes. It also appears they removed the bulletin boards on either side. I wonder what happened to them?

David W. Gates Jr.

Broad Ripple IN Post Office 46220 Mural Detail
Broad Ripple IN Post Office 46220 Mural
Broad Ripple IN Post Office 46220 Mural Signature
Broad Ripple IN Post Office 46220 Mural Right
Broad Ripple IN Post Office 46220 Mural Left
Broad Ripple IN Post Office 46220 Mural Center
Broad Ripple IN Post Office 46220
Broad Ripple IN Post Office 46220
Broad Ripple IN Post Office 46220
Broad Ripple IN Post Office 46220
Broad Ripple IN Post Office 46220
Broad Ripple IN Post Office 46220 Mailbox
Broad Ripple IN Post Office 46220 Cornerstone
Broad Ripple IN Post Office 46220

“Used with the permission of the United States Postal Service®. All rights reserved.”

Sources

  • Personal visit on 11/7/21 about 7:15 AM and 3/09/22 at 1:34 PM by David W. Gates Jr.
  • Indiana 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
  • (affiliate link): A Simple and Vital Design: The Story of the Indiana Post Office Murals: John C. Carlisle

Filed Under: Artist, Artwork, Cornerstone, Indiana, New Deal, Post Office Tagged With: Alan Tompkins, Artist, Artwork, Cornerstone, Indiana, New Deal, Post Office

Martinsville Indiana Post Office

October 30, 2021 By David W. Gates Jr.

Martinsville IN Post Office 46151
Martinsville IN Post Office 46151

ADDRESS: 10 S Main St, Martinsville, Indiana 46151
ARTIST: Alan Tompkins
TITLE: The Arrival of the Mail
MEDIUM: (mural)
STATUS: The Martinsville post office is still an active, operating facility, and the mural can be viewed by interested members of the public. It resides in the lobby on a wall above the postmaster’s door.
YEAR: 1937

What luck to arrive early in the morning and the sun shinning brilliantly on the front of the building. This is my favorite time and setting to photograph the buildings. Love the deep blue skies in the background.

I was here on a Sunday and they do not keep the lobby open. I’ll need to return at a future date to enjoy the mural.

Update

I’m grateful to have been able to re-visit this one again for mural photos. I’m glad I returned as this one also has some great historical photographs on the wall in the lobby. Wonderful to see these.

David W. Gates Jr.

Martinsville IN Post Office 46151
Martinsville IN Post Office 46151 Cornerstone
Martinsville IN Post Office 46151
Martinsville IN Post Office 46151
Martinsville IN Post Office 46151
Martinsville IN Post Office 46151
Martinsville IN Post Office 46151
Martinsville IN Post Office 46151 Lobby
Martinsville IN Post Office 46151 Mural Center
Martinsville IN Post Office 46151 Mural Left Side
Martinsville IN Post Office 46151 Mural Right
Martinsville IN Post Office 46151 Mural Signature
Martinsville IN Post Office 46151 Artifacts
Martinsville IN Post Office 46151 Artifacts
Martinsville IN Post Office 46151 Artifacts
Martinsville IN Post Office 46151 Artifacts

“Used with the permission of the United States Postal Service®. All rights reserved.”

Sources

  • Personal visit on 10/17/21 about 9:04 AM and 02/23/2022 about 9:28 AM by David W. Gates Jr.
  • Indiana Post Office Mural Guidebook by David W. Gates Jr.
  • (affiliate link) Democratic Vistas: Post Offices and Public Art in the New Deal: [Hardcover]  Marlene Park, Gerald E. Markowitz
  • United States Postal Service

Filed Under: Artist, Artwork, Cornerstone, Indiana, New Deal, Post Office Tagged With: Alan Tompkins, Artist, Artwork, Cornerstone, Indiana, New Deal, Post Office

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