Marion Greenwood

Post offices that have artwork by the artists Marion Greenwood

Tennessee Post Office Mural Artists

July 30, 2020 By David W. Gates Jr.

A total of twenty-nine artist created murals in thirty Tennessee Post Office buildings during the Great Depression of the 1930s. One of the artist Minna Citron received multiple commissions. 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.

Tennessee Post Office Mural Artist

Bolivar – Carl Nyquist
Camden – John H. Fyfe
Chattanooga – Leopold Scholz, sculpture
Chattanooga – Hilton Leech, mural
Clarksville – F. Luis Mora
Clinton – Horace Talmage Day
Columbia – Henry Billings, mural
Columbia – Sidney Waugh, sculpture
Crossville – Marion Greenwood
Dayton – Bertram Hartman
Decherd – Enea Biafora
Dickson – Edwin Boyd Johnson
Dresden – Minetta Good
Gleason – Anne Poor
Greeneville – William Zorach
Jefferson City – Charles Child
Johnson City – Wendell Jones
La Follette – Dahlov Ipcar
Lenoir City – David Stone Martin
Lewisburg – John H.R. Pickett
Lexington – Grace Greenwood (Ames)
Livingston – Margaret Covey Chisholm
Manchester – Minna Citron*
McKenzie – Karl Oberteuffer
Mount Pleasant – Eugene Higgins
Nashville – Belle Kinney
Newport – Minna Citron*
Ripley – Marguerite Zorach
Rockwood – Christian Henrich
Sweetwater – Thelma Martin

Sources

David W. Gates Jr. on site visits to each location.
Tennessee Post Office Murals by David W. Gates Jr.
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

Former Crossville Tennessee Post Office

June 24, 2013 By David W. Gates Jr.

ADDRESS: 2 South Main St., Crossville, Tennessee 38555
ARTIST: Marion Greenwood
TITLE: The Partnership of Man and Nature
ARTIST: Marion Greenwood
MEDIUM: Oil on canvas (mural)
STATUS: The mural was removed from this building and moved over to thew newer post office on Old Jamestown Hwy. It resides in the lobby of current post office building.
YEAR: 1940

For mural information please see our article on the current Crossville, Tennessee Post Office.

With years of practice or just knowing what to look for its pretty easy to spot the old post offices. The former Crossville post office has been nicely maintained an re-purposed as a memorial and museum. Very nice touches and definitely nice to see the old building preserved and well maintained. The building is a memorial to Milo Lemert a World War 1 Hero and was dedicated in 1991.

Yesterday, I highlighted the newer building which replaced this one. The mural that used to reside here is now in the newer post office building, “New” being a slightly loose word as the replacement post office was built sometime in the 1980’s.

It was early when I arrived here and town was just coming to life. To the man I met across the street. It was nice to meet you. I don’t remember your name but I do remember you had a large camera and were taking pictures for the historical society. We chatted for a few minutes. I gave you my business card and you laughed. That made me happy, I hope your photos turned out well that day. All told, I believe I visited and documented about 60 post offices while visiting Tennessee.

Thanks stopping by,

David W. Gates Jr.

Former Crossville Tennessee Post Office Cornerstone

Sources

Personal visit on 6/04/2013 by David W. Gates Jr.
Tennessee Post Office Murals by David W. Gates Jr.
Tennessee Post Office Mural Guidebook by David W. Gates Jr.
(affiliate link) Democratic Vistas: Post Offices and Public Art in the New Deal: [Hardcover] Marlene Park, Gerald E. Markowitz
(affiliate link): Tennessee Post Office Murals: Howard Hull
The Historical Marker Database (Milo Lemert Memorial Building, a War Memorial (hmdb.org))

Crossville Tennessee Post Office

June 23, 2013 By David W. Gates Jr.

ADDRESS: 240 Old Jamestown Hwy. Crossville, Tennessee 38555
ARTIST: Marion Greenwood
TITLE: The Partnership of Man and Nature
ARTIST: Marion Greenwood
MEDIUM: Oil on canvas (mural)
STATUS: The mural resides in the lobby of the building and is accessible to members of the public interested in viewing it.
YEAR: 1940

Nice combination of old and new in Crossville, Not only an interesting mural but also a dedication plaque. Who would have thought? I’m happy to see that the mural was taken out of the old post office and moved to the existing post office building. The newer post office is a classic 80’s building, I wonder when the mural was moved? I’m extremely happy to see that it has been preserved and is on public display.

This begs me to ask all sorts of questions. How does all this happen? Recent sales of post offices seem to include the murals. Some how in some cases the mural goes with the sale of the property. However, in some cases such as this the mural is moved and preserved. So I ask again how and why doesn’t this happen to ALL post office sales? Why isn’t the art protected in other states and other building transactions? Please let know, because during my tour of Tennessee I’ve seen other post offices sold along with the existing artwork still in the building. These treasures are no longer available to the public. This disturbs me more than I though it would.

What struck me the most about this mural is the look on the people’s faces. They all appear worn out and exhausted from life. Or maybe just tired from working, it’s hard to tell, but even the baby’s faces appears worn out and tired. Interesting composition, I wonder what the artists was trying to capture in this piece. This one by the way used to hang in the original or former post office. I’ll be showcasing this one tomorrow, so stay tuned if you are interested in a bit of Crossville history.

What do you think about the mural? Are you from Crossville? Have you ever noticed the mural when you visited the post office? What do you think of the mural? Do you like it? Do you wonder who the characters are? or where they are from? I do.

Thanks,

David W. Gates Jr.