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Curt Drewes

Post offices that have artwork by the artists Curt Drewes

Illinois Post Office Mural Artists

By

Harry Sternberg
Harry Sternberg

The following is a list of all the artists that created murals in Illinois post offices during the New Deal. As I’ve been doing my research I felt it might be helpful for others so I decided to write-up an article with my findings.

If you ever visit the National Archives in Washington DC, then you may notice this comes in handy. Some of the records and files are organized by state. Other records are organized by the name of the artists.

I found it useful to have a listing of both. So here it is.

Illinois Post Office Mural Artist

  1. Abingdon, Illinois – Newell Hillis Arnold
  2. Berwyn, Illinois – Richard Haines
  3. Brookfield, Illinois – Edouard Chassaing
  4. Bushnell, Illinois – Reva Jackman
  5. Carlyle, Illinois – Curt Drewes
  6. Carmi, Illinois – William Davenport Griffin
  7. Carthage, Illinois – Karl Kelpe
  8. Chester, Illinois – Fay Elizabeth Davis
  9. Chicago, Former Chestnut – Frances Foy
  10. Chicago, Former Chestnut – Gustaf Dalstrom
  11. Chicago, Kedzie – Peterpaul Ott
  12. Chicago, Lakeview – Harry Sternberg
  13. Chicago, Logan Square – Hildreth Meiere
  14. Chicago, Morgan Park – John Theodore Johnson
  15. Chicago, Uptown – Henry Varnum Poor
  16. Chillicothe, Illinois – Arthur Herschel Lidov
  17. Clinton, Illinois – Aaron Bohrod
  18. Decatur, Illinois – Edward Millman
  19. Decatur, Illinois – Edgar Britton
  20. Decatur, Illinois – Mitchell Siporin
  21. Des Plaines, Illinois – James Michael Newell
  22. Downers Grove, Illinois – Elizabeth Tracy
  23. Dwight, Illinois – Carlos Lopez
  24. East Alton, Illinois – Frances Foy
  25. East Moline, Illinois – Edgar Britton
  26. Eldorado, Illinois – William Samuel Schwartz
  27. Elmhurst, Illinois – George Melville Smith
  28. Evanston, Illinois – Robert Isaiah Russin
  29. Evanston, Illinois – Armin Alfred Scheler
  30. Fairfield, Illinois – William Samuel Schwartz
  31. Flora, Illinois – William Davenport Griffin
  32. Forest Park, Illinois – Miriam McKinnie Hofmeier
  33. Galesburg, Illinois – Aaron Board
  34. Geneva, Illinois – Manuel Abraham Bromberg
  35. Gibson City, Illinois – Frances Foy
  36. Gillespie, Illinois – Gustaf Dalstrom
  37. Glen Ellyn, Illinois – Daniel Rhodes
  38. Hamilton, Illinois – Edmund D. Lewandowski
  39. Herrin, Illinois – Gustaf Dalstrom
  40. Homewood, Illinois – Maurine Montgomery Gibbs
  41. Kankakee, Illinois – Edouard Chassaing
  42. Lemont, Illinois – Charles Turzak
  43. Lewistown, Illinois – Ida Abelman
  44. Madison, Illinois – Alexander Raymond Katz
  45. Marseilles, Illinois – Avery Johnson
  46. Marshall, Illinois – Miriam McKinnie Hofmeier
  47. McLeansboro, Illinois – Dorothea Mierisch
  48. Melrose Park, Illinois – Edwin Boyd Johnson
  49. Moline, Illinois – Edward Millman
  50. Morton, Illinois – Charles Umlauf
  51. Mount Carroll, Illinois – Irene Soravia Bianucci
  52. Mount Morris, Illinois – Dale Nichols
  53. Mount Sterling, Illinois – Henry Bernstein
  54. Naperville, Illinois – Rainey Bennett
  55. Nashville, Illinois – Zoltan Sepeshy
  56. Nokomis, Illinois – Bernard J. Rosenthal
  57. Normal, Illinois – Albert Pels
  58. Oak Park, Illinois – John Theodore Johnson
  59. O’Fallon, Illinois – Merlin F. Pollock
  60. Oglesby, Illinois – Fay Elizabeth Davis
  61. Oregon, Illinois – David B. Cheskin
  62. Park Ridge, Illinois – George Melville Smith
  63. Peoria, Illinois – Freeman Schoolcraft
  64. Petersburg, Illinois – John Winters
  65. Pittsfield, Illinois – William Samuel Schwartz
  66. Plano, Illinois – Peterpaul Ott
  67. Rock Falls, Illinois – Curt Drewes
  68. Rushville, Illinois – Rainey Bennett
  69. Salem, Illinois – Walter Vladimir Rousseff
  70. Sandwich, Illinois – Marshall Maynard Fredericks
  71. Shelbyville, Illinois – Lucia May Wiley
  72. Staunton, Illinois – Ralf Christian Henricksen
  73. Tuscola, Illinois – Edwin Boyd Johnson
  74. Vandalia, Illinois – Aaron Board
  75. Virden, Illinois – James Daugherty
  76. White Hall, Illinois – Felix Oscar Schlag
  77. Wilmette, Illinois – Raymond Breinin
  78. Wood River – Roxana, Illinois – Archibald Motley Jr.
New Deal Artists Biographies NARA
New Deal Artists Biographies NARA
New Deal Artists Biographies NARA

Sources

Carlyle Illinois Post Office

By

Carlyle IL Post Office 62231
Carlyle IL Post Office 62231

ADDRESS: 1080 Fairfax Street, Carlyle, Illinois 62231
ARTIST: Curt Drewes
TITLE: Fish Hatchery, Farm, and Dairy Farming
MEDIUM: Stone (reliefs)
STATUS: The Carlyle post office is still an active, operating facility, and the reliefs can be viewed by interested members of the public. The relief resides in the lobby on the wall above the postmaster’s door.
YEAR: 1939

It’s not often you find stone relief as art in a post office. Most of the works you see are murals, so it’s refreshing to see something different. Carlyle is a perfect example of this. A great looking cast stone sets this building apart from the rest.

What also sets this building apart from the rest is the accessibility ramp on the right side of the building. Please don’t take this the wrong way folks. When the government mandated all buildings be ADA compliant it was a great thing. What concerns me was the lack of effort in implementing the ramps on various buildings.

The Carlyle building is a perfect example of the lack of effort and forethought when installing the ramp. I’m 99% sure the corner-stone for this building is located on the right side, exactly where the ramp is now located. I’ve seen examples of this on other buildings so I’m not surprise that the builders must have covered it up. It is my thinking the corner-stone has been entirely covered up.

This lack of though is what make me sad. It’s almost as if the building has been defaced by vandals. Maybe that is extreme and maybe some folks don’t really care and will just comment, “It’s just a corner-stone” but I argue, the corner-stone cost money to install and engrave when the building was constructed. To me its an important element to the overall design of the building. And for that reason alone it’s frustrating to observe these situations.

What are your thoughts on the cover up the corner-stone? Was it indeed covered up? Maybe someone did have the fore thought and removed the corner-stone and it’s in storage. Hey now that would make me happy. Any ideas out there? Please comment and share below.

Thanks,

David W. Gates Jr.

Carlyle Illinois Post Office 62231
Carlyle Illinois Post Office 62231
Carlyle Illinois Post Office 62231 Lobby
Carlyle Illinois Post Office 62231 Corner Stone
Carlyle Illinois Post Office 62231
Carlyle Illinois Post Office 62231 Plane
Carlyle Illinois Post Office 62231 Ship
Carlyle Illinois Post Office 62231 Survey Marker
Carlyle Illinois Post Office 62231 Train
Carlyle Illinois Post Office Art 62231 Center
Carlyle Illinois Post Office Art 62231 Detail
Carlyle Illinois Post Office Art 62231 Detail
Carlyle Illinois Post Office Art 62231 Detail
Carlyle Illinois Post Office Art 62231 Detail
Carlyle Illinois Post Office Art 62231 Detail
Carlyle Illinois Post Office Art 62231 Full
Carlyle Illinois Post Office Art 62231 Detail
Carlyle Illinois Post Office Art 62231 Detail
Carlyle Illinois Post Office Art 62231 Detail
Carlyle Illinois Post Office Art 62231 Detail
Carlyle Illinois Post Office Art 62231 Full
Carlyle Illinois Post Office Art 62231 Left Side
Carlyle Illinois Post Office Art 62231 Right Side
Carlyle Illinois Post Office Art 62231 Full

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

Sources

Rock Falls Illinois Post Office

By

Rock Falls IL Post Office 61071
Rock Falls IL Post Office 61071

ADDRESS: 210 2nd Avenue, Rock Falls, Illinois, 61071
ARTIST: Curt Drewes
TITLE: Farming by Hand, and The Manufacture of Farm Implements
MEDIUM: Plaster (reliefs)
STATUS: The Rock Falls post office is still an active, operating facility, and the reliefs can be viewed by interested members of the public. They reside in the lobby on the same wall as the postmaster’s door.
YEAR: 1939

Welcome to another Saturday edition. Saturday’s I like to highlight older post office buildings most often these were created during the depression era of the 1930’s. My favorites have murals in the lobby or some other form of artwork. The Rock Falls is special in that it does not have a mural but rather plaster cast reliefs as artwork.

I’m not sure what to make of this one? I’m happy to see an older building but the front Blue Shade just doesn’t do anything for me. It almost looks as if this was an afterthought to get the name of the post office out in front where people can see it.

I also remember this being a challenge to photograph. One of the reasons for this is because the sun was setting behind the building, so naturally this sort of block out the front of the building and makes it darker and more difficult to see. What I end up doing is walking closer to the building and try to cut out the sun so it does not shine right into the camera. I think it turned out pretty good. What do you think?

Thanks,

David W. Gates Jr.

Rock Falls Illinois Post Office 61071 Art "Farming by Hand"j Close up Curt Drewes
Rock Falls Illinois Post Office 61071 Art "Farming by Hand" Curt Drewes Plaster Cast
Rock Falls Illinois Post Office 61071
Rock Falls Illinois Post Office 61071 Art "The Manufacture of Farm Implements" Curt Drewes Plaster Cast
Rock Falls Illinois Post Office 61071 Art "The Manufacture of Farm Implements" Close up Curt Drewes
Rock Falls Illinois Post Office 61071
Rock Falls Illinois Post Office 61071 Cornerstone

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

Sources