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You are here: Home / Archives for Karl Kelpe

Karl Kelpe

Post offices that have artwork by the artists Karl Kelpe

Illinois Post Office Mural Artists

April 12, 2022 By David W. Gates Jr.

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

  • 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

Filed Under: Artist, Illinois, Post Office Tagged With: Aaron Bohrod, Albert Pels, Alexander Raymond Katz, Archibald Motley Jr, Armin Alfred Scheler, Arthur Herschel Lidov, Artist, Avery Johnson, Bernard J Rosenthal, Carlos Lopez, Charles Turzak, Charles Umlauf, Curt Drewes, Dale Nichols, Daniel Rhodes, Dorothea Mierisch, Edgar Britton, Edmund D Lewandowski, Edouard Chassaing, Edward Millman, Edwin Boyd Johnson, Elizabeth Tracy, Fay Elizabeth Davis, Felix Schlag, Frances Foy, Freeman Schoolcraft, Gustaf Dalstrom, Harry Sternberg, Henry Varnum Poor, Hildreth Meiere, Ida Abelman, Illinois, Irene Bianucci, James Daugherty, James Michael Newell, John Theodore Johnson, John Winters, Karl Kelpe, Lucia May Wiley, Manuel Abraham Bromberg, Marshall Maynard Fredricks, Maurine Montgomery Gibbs, Merlin F Pollock, Miriam McKinnie Hofmeier, Mitchell Siporin, Newell Hillis Arnold, Peterpaul Ott, Rainey Bennett, Ralf Christian Hendricksen, Raymond Breinin, Reva Jackman, Richard Haines, Robert Isaiah Russin, Walter Vladimir Rousseff, William Davenport Griffin, William Samuel Schwartz, Zoltan Sepeshy

Carthage Illinois Post Office

January 22, 2012 By David W. Gates Jr.

Carthage IL Post Office 62321
Carthage IL Post Office 62321

ADDRESS: 615 Main Street, Carthage, Illinois 62321
ARTIST: Karl Kelpe
TITLE: Pioneers Tilling the Soil and Building Log Cabin
MEDIUM: Oil on canvas (mural)
STATUS: The Carthage 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: 1939

Another post office on my two-day road trip in Illinois.  The corner-stone on the front of the building indicates the following. Henry Morgenthau Jr. as secretary of the treasury. James A. Farley as postmaster general, Louis A. Simon as supervising architect and George O. Von Nerta as supervising engineer.

Thanks,

David W. Gates Jr.

Carthage Illinois Post Office Mural 62321 Full
Carthage Illinois Post Office 62321
Carthage Illinois Post Office 62321 Cornerstone
Carthage Illinois Post Office 62321 Mural Signature
Carthage Illinois Post Office 62321

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

Sources

  • Personal visit on 1/11/2012 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
  • Parma Conservation
  • Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Filed Under: Artist, Artwork, Cornerstone, Illinois, New Deal, Post Office Tagged With: Artist, Artwork, Cornerstone, Illinois, Karl Kelpe, Mural, New Deal, Parma Conservation, Post Office

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