George Melville Smith

Post offices that have artwork by the artists George Melville Smith

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

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

Crown Point Indiana Post Office

October 7, 2021 By David W. Gates Jr.

ADDRESS: 128 S., East St., Crown Point, Indiana 46307
ARTIST: George Melville Smith
TITLE: From Such Beginnings Sprang the County of Lake
MEDIUM: Oil on canvas (mural)
STATUS: The Crown Point post office is still an active operating facility, and the mural can be viewed by interested memebers of the pubic. It resides in the lobby on a wall above the former postmaster’s door.
YEAR: 1938

Initially, I wasn’t planning on stopping at the Crown Point building. However, by the time I got here on a Sunday Morning at 6:11AM, the sun was just starting to rise. In addition when I checked the lobby doors, they were open. So low and behold, I spend a good amount of time here and photograph the mural, by the time I was ready to leave, I was able to get a few exterior photos of the outside. They are dark, but I also kind of like the mysterious look and feel to them.

Note to self: that cornerstone was hard to get. I had to hold back the branches using one hand and then try to photograph it with my other hands. When you revisit this one bring another set of hands or the kid to help out.

David W. Gates Jr.

Crown Point IN Post Office 46307 Mural Signature

Crown Point IN Post Office 46307 Mural Right

Crown Point IN Post Office 46307 Mural Left

Crown Point IN Post Office 46307 Cornerstone

Crown Point IN Post Office 46307 Mural Detail

Crown Point IN Post Office 46307 Mural Center

Crown Point IN Post Office 46307 Artifact

Sources

Personal visit on 9/26/21 about 6:10 AM and 12/12/2021 at 4:33 PM and 3/02/2022 at 4:36 PM and 06/27/2023 about 11:28 AM by David W. Gates Jr.
Indiana Post Office Mural Guidebook by David W. Gates Jr.
Chicago Tribune, New Deal-era mural restored for Park Ridge Library – Park Ridge Herald-Advocate (chicagotribune.com)
Smithsonian National Postal Museum, Indians Cede the Land | National Postal Museum (si.edu)
United States Postal Service
Indiana Landmarks, New Deal Left Its Stamp on Local Post Offices – Indiana Landmarks
(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

Elmhurst Illinois Post Office

November 14, 2015 By David W. Gates Jr.

ADDRESS: 154 West Park Avenue, Elmhurst, Illinois, 60126
ARTIST: George Melville Smith
TITLE: There Was Vision
MEDIUM: Oil on canvas (mural)
STATUS: The Elmhurst 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 above the postmaster’s door.
YEAR: 1938

I had a wonderful sunny day for my visit to Elmhurst. I woke up early on a Saturday so I could be down there when they opened. I was happy to see a plaque in the lobby describing the mural, although it was high up on wall making it hard to read.

I will say this, the lighting in the lobby is ideal. It doesn’t block the mural in any way and provides enough light to see the entire piece. Often times I see lights that hang down and obstruct the view of the murals. I just visited some more buildings this past weekend and this was exactly what I ran into. So now that I’m looking back on this article I can honestly say some thought was put into the lighting and its nice to see it does not get in the way of viewing this piece.

What are your thoughts regarding this mural? What do you like about it?

Thanks,

David W. Gates Jr.