Artist Frank Buffmire - Black River Falls Post Office Mural — Artist Frank Buffmire – Black River Falls Post Office Mural

A total of twenty-eight artist created murals in thirty-five Wisconsin 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.

Wisconsin Post Office Mural Artists

Berlin – Raymond Redell*
Black River Falls – Frank Buffmire
Chilton – Charles W Thwaites*
Columbus – Arnold Blanch
De Pere – Lester W Bentley
Edgerton – Vladimir Rousseff*
Elkhorn – Tom Rost*
Fond du Lac – Boris Gilbertson*
Hartford– Ethel Spears
Hayward – Stella E Harlos
Hudson – Ruth Grotenrath
Janesville – Boris Gilbertson*
Kaukauna – Vladimir Rousseff*
Kewaunee – Paul Faulkner
Ladysmith – Elsa Jemne
Lake Geneva – George A Dietrich
Lancaster – Tom Rost*
Mayville – Peter Roiter*
Milwaukee – Frances Foy
Neillsville – John Van Koert
Oconomowoc – Edward Morton
Park Falls – James Waltrous
Plymouth – Charles W Thwaites*
Prairie Du Chien – Jefferson E Greer
Reedsburg – Richard Jansen
Rice Lake – Forest Flower*
Richland Center – Richard Brooks
Shawano – Eugene Higgins
Sheboygan – Schomer Lichtner
Stoughton – Edmund D Lewandoski
Sturgeon Bay – Santos Zingle
Viroqua – Forrest Flower*
Waupaca – Raymond Redell*
Wausau – Gerritt Sinclair
West Bend – Peter Roiter*

There are a total of 28 artist that were commissioned artwork in Wisconsin in regards to post offices.

A few of the artists received multiple commissions and have art in more than one building. The following artists have two or more murals in Wisconsin.

Raymond Redell – Berlin and Wapaca
Charles W Thwaities – Chilton and Plymouth
Vladimir Rousseff – Edgerton and Kaukauna
Tom Rost – Elkhorn and Lancaster
Boris Gilbertson – Fond du Lac and Janesville
Forrest Flower – Rice Lake and Viroqua
Peter Rotier – Mayville and West Bend

Sources

David W. Gates Jr. on site visits to each location.
Wisconsin Post Office Mural Guidebook by David W. Gates Jr.
Wisconsin Post Office Murals 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

ADDRESS: 213 N. Central Ave. Richland Center, Wisconsin 53581
ARTIST: Richard Brooks
TITLE: Decorative Interpretation of Unification of America through the Post
MEDIUM: Oil on canvas (mural)
STATUS: The Richland Center Post Office is still active and the mural viewable by the public. It resides in the lobby on the wall above the postmaster’s door.
YEAR: 1937

Today’s featured post office is Richland Center Wisconsin. How do I know this is indeed the Richland Center Post Office? Well because I’ve had to visit this one twice now, the first time I visited was on a Sunday and the lobby was closed. So I followed up with another visit a few weeks after my fist visit to get inside and photograph the mural.

I have to say this is probably one of the most colorful murals I’ve seen in Wisconsin. The variety of bright colors makes this one unique. I was delighted to view it and photograph it. I’m not sure what to make of some of the missing detail. For instance if you look at the lady holding the baby or small child, there is no face. Kind of creepy but also interesting at the same time. The fact that she is at her post office mailbox holding a letter makes it that much more appealing for decorating this wonderful old building.

What do you think of this mural? Do you like the bright colors? Does the faceless child creep you out?

Thanks,

David W. Gates Jr.