Edgar Britton

Post offices that have artwork by the artists Edgar Britton

Illinois Post Office Mural Artists

April 12, 2022 By David W. Gates Jr.

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

Abingdon, Illinois – Newell Hillis Arnold
Berwyn, Illinois – Richard Haines
Brookfield, Illinois – Edouard Chassaing
Bushnell, Illinois – Reva Jackman
Carlyle, Illinois – Curt Drewes
Carmi, Illinois – William Davenport Griffin
Carthage, Illinois – Karl Kelpe
Chester, Illinois – Fay Elizabeth Davis
Chicago, Former Chestnut – Frances Foy
Chicago, Former Chestnut – Gustaf Dalstrom
Chicago, Kedzie – Peterpaul Ott
Chicago, Lakeview – Harry Sternberg
Chicago, Logan Square – Hildreth Meiere
Chicago, Morgan Park – John Theodore Johnson
Chicago, Uptown – Henry Varnum Poor
Chillicothe, Illinois – Arthur Herschel Lidov
Clinton, Illinois – Aaron Bohrod
Decatur, Illinois – Edward Millman
Decatur, Illinois – Edgar Britton
Decatur, Illinois – Mitchell Siporin
Des Plaines, Illinois – James Michael Newell
Downers Grove, Illinois – Elizabeth Tracy
Dwight, Illinois – Carlos Lopez
East Alton, Illinois – Frances Foy
East Moline, Illinois – Edgar Britton
Eldorado, Illinois – William Samuel Schwartz
Elmhurst, Illinois – George Melville Smith
Evanston, Illinois – Robert Isaiah Russin
Evanston, Illinois – Armin Alfred Scheler
Fairfield, Illinois – William Samuel Schwartz
Flora, Illinois – William Davenport Griffin
Forest Park, Illinois – Miriam McKinnie Hofmeier
Galesburg, Illinois – Aaron Board
Geneva, Illinois – Manuel Abraham Bromberg
Gibson City, Illinois – Frances Foy
Gillespie, Illinois – Gustaf Dalstrom
Glen Ellyn, Illinois – Daniel Rhodes
Hamilton, Illinois – Edmund D. Lewandowski
Herrin, Illinois – Gustaf Dalstrom
Homewood, Illinois – Maurine Montgomery Gibbs
Kankakee, Illinois – Edouard Chassaing
Lemont, Illinois – Charles Turzak
Lewistown, Illinois – Ida Abelman
Madison, Illinois – Alexander Raymond Katz
Marseilles, Illinois – Avery Johnson
Marshall, Illinois – Miriam McKinnie Hofmeier
McLeansboro, Illinois – Dorothea Mierisch
Melrose Park, Illinois – Edwin Boyd Johnson
Moline, Illinois – Edward Millman
Morton, Illinois – Charles Umlauf
Mount Carroll, Illinois – Irene Soravia Bianucci
Mount Morris, Illinois – Dale Nichols
Mount Sterling, Illinois – Henry Bernstein
Naperville, Illinois – Rainey Bennett
Nashville, Illinois – Zoltan Sepeshy
Nokomis, Illinois – Bernard J. Rosenthal
Normal, Illinois – Albert Pels
Oak Park, Illinois – John Theodore Johnson
O’Fallon, Illinois – Merlin F. Pollock
Oglesby, Illinois – Fay Elizabeth Davis
Oregon, Illinois – David B. Cheskin
Park Ridge, Illinois – George Melville Smith
Peoria, Illinois – Freeman Schoolcraft
Petersburg, Illinois – John Winters
Pittsfield, Illinois – William Samuel Schwartz
Plano, Illinois – Peterpaul Ott
Rock Falls, Illinois – Curt Drewes
Rushville, Illinois – Rainey Bennett
Salem, Illinois – Walter Vladimir Rousseff
Sandwich, Illinois – Marshall Maynard Fredericks
Shelbyville, Illinois – Lucia May Wiley
Staunton, Illinois – Ralf Christian Henricksen
Tuscola, Illinois – Edwin Boyd Johnson
Vandalia, Illinois – Aaron Board
Virden, Illinois – James Daugherty
White Hall, Illinois – Felix Oscar Schlag
Wilmette, Illinois – Raymond Breinin
Wood River – Roxana, Illinois – Archibald Motley Jr.

Sources

David W. Gates Jr. on site visits to each location.
Illinois 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

East Moline Illinois Post Office

January 2, 2016 By David W. Gates Jr.

ADDRESS: 805 16th Avenue, East Moline, Illinois 61244
ARTIST: Edgar Britton
TITLE: Early Settlers
MEDIUM: Fresco (mural)
STATUS: The East Moline 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 the wall next to the staircase.
YEAR: 1936

I like the look of this building. The arch above the windows stick out for me. I was lucky to have nice weather for this trip. The funny thing is I had to make the guy parked out front move his car. Sorry but I really wanted unobstructed pictures.

Ok, well I didn’t actually make him move. He observed I was trying to get pictures and asked if I wanted him to move. I agreed, and said, yes please. And that is how is goes some times. I like when people are kind enough to notice and help out when they can.

This is a great mural. It is taller than most murals I’ve viewed. Often times you see murals above the postmasters office door, often in landscape format. But for this one you see it hanging vertical on the wall in portrait format. Pretty interesting change of scenery.

What are your thoughts of the mural? Of the building? What do you like about it? Please comment and share below.

Update February 27, 2016

So it was pointed out the cornerstone on this one is quite unique. I have to be honest I had no idea how unique it was until a reader of mine pointed it out to me.

Here is the thing, I have had a hard time photographing the granite corer stones. They are really hard to read. The East Moline, IL post office corner stone is a perfect example. In my original article I only posted one close up image of the date, which is really all I was interested in at first. The rest of the images didn’t turn out very well.

However, since there has been more interest in this one I’ve decided to update the photo gallery below with additional images. I hope you enjoy these.

Thanks,

David W. Gates Jr.

East Moline Illinois Post Office 61244 Artifacts

East Moline Illinois Post Office 61244 Cornerstone

East Moline Illinois Post Office Mural 61244 Detail

East Moline Illinois Post Office Mural 61244 Bottom

East Moline Illinois Post Office Mural 61244 Full

Sources

Personal visit on 8/16/2015 by David W. Gates Jr.
Illinois Post Office Mural Guidebook
United States Postal Service
Democratic Vistas: Post Offices and Public Art in the New Deal: [Hardcover] Marlene Park, Gerald E. Markowitz

Decatur Illinois Post Office

March 31, 2012 By David W. Gates Jr.

ADDRESS: 214 North Franklin Street, Decatur, Illinois, 62523
ARTIST: Edward Millman
TITLE: Early Pioneer, Social Consciousness, and Growth of Democracy
MEDIUM: Fresco (murals)
STATUS: The Decatur post office is still and active, operating facility and the murals can be viewed by interested members of the public. They reside in the lobby in multiple locations.
YEAR: 1938

ARTIST: Edgar Britton
TITLE: Natural Resources of Illinois – Frank Lloyd Wright and Carl Sandburg, Natural Resources of Illinois – John Deere and Colonel Francis Parker,’ and Development of Illinois
MEDIUM: Fresco (murals)
YEAR: 1938

ARTIST: Mitchell Siporin
TITLE: Fusion of Agriculture and Industry
MEDIUM: Fresco (murals)

My road trip in early February took me to the Decatur Illinois area. Since this was a last minute road trip I did not make any plans on where I was going to stay for the night. By the time the evening rolled around I was getting a bit anxious. I really did not feel like paying for an expensive hotel. I also was not able to find a campground in this area.

What I did find was an excellent Bed & Breakfast. I was really excited that I was able to get in touch with the owner, as it turned out I was the only guest for the night. I had this great big old Victorian house all to myself. Wow! what a way to live it up for the night. It was really a treat to have friendly personal service. The next morning I was served an excellent breakfast with eggs, waffle, toast, juice the whole works. If you haven’t figured out yet another one of my favorite things to do is eat.

If you are ever in the Decatur area and in need of a place to stay I highly recommend the Victoriana Bed & Breakfast Inn. The post office is another highlight in Decatur. Here are some more Decatur Illinois Post Office pictures.

UPDATE September 2015

So when I initially visited Decatur, I was unaware and hand not done my homework prior to making my site visit. After several years of working on this project I’ve discovered there are three artists who have done work here. It is my intention to re-visit this post office and take more detail pictures of this one.

I will also be creating three seperate articles one for each artists. I think to include them all here in one article would be too much information. So there you have it. I’m not perfect nor do I claim to be perfect. But after studying this one more in-depth, I’ve come to realize how important it is to be more accurate in my reporting and discovery. For now please enjoy the photos I do have.

Thanks,

David W. Gates Jr.