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Lilian Swann Saarien

Lilian Swann Saarien

Indiana Post Office Mural Artist

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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

Bloomfield Indiana Post Office

By

Bloomfield IN Post Office 47424
Bloomfield IN Post Office 47424

ADDRESS: 55 N. Washington St., Bloomfield, Indiana 47424
ARTIST: Lilian Swann Saarinen
TITLE: Waiting for the Mail
MEDIUM: Terra-cotta (relief)
STATUS: The Bloomfield post office is still an active, operating facility, and the relief can be viewed by interested members of the public. It resides in the retail section of the lobby on a wall above the postmaster’s door.
YEAR: 1941

Bloomfield was the perfect visit in terms of lighting, timing, no cars or people and for external images. That red and tan against the deep blue skies made for some amazing photos.

This my friends is my ideal picture of a classic post office building photo. I wish every image I had was this perfect.

Update:

I’m grateful to have been able to re-visit this one during business hours and get better photos of the relief. I’m a happy guy now!

David W. Gates Jr.

Bloomfield IN Post Office 47424
Bloomfield IN Post Office 47424 Cornerstone
Bloomfield IN Post Office 47424 Lobby
Bloomfield IN Post Office 47424 Relief
Bloomfield IN Post Office 47424 Relief
Bloomfield IN Post Office 47424
Bloomfield IN Post Office 47424
Bloomfield IN Post Office 47424 Relief
Bloomfield IN Post Office 47424 Relief
Bloomfield IN Post Office 47424 Artifact
Bloomfield IN Post Office 47424 Relief
Bloomfield IN Post Office 47424 Relief
Bloomfield IN Post Office 47424 Relief

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

Sources