RC Post Office mural is a legacy of New Deal activism

The Rogers City Post Office has displayed an original work of art titled “Rogers City Harbor” by Detroit-born artist James Calder in its lobby since opening in 1941. The painting is one of three Michigan post office murals by Calder and is part of a collection of works commissioned by the federal government between the Great Depression and the early years of World War II. The government began a program to decorate newly constructed federal buildings with “murals and sculptures appropriate to the embellishment of Federal buildings.” According to Art Historian Christine Ruby of the Detroit Institute of Arts, “The political roots of Depression mural art went beyond the need to provide artists with an income. Government art officials and others believed that mural art communicated most effectively with the public.”

THE AIM of the program was to introduce small communities to fine art by placing works of art in the lobbies of local post offices because they are open to and visited by any member of the public. Between 1933 and 1943 the federal government employed artists, many of whom were destitute, under the auspices of the Works Progress Administration (WPA).

While many WPA workers worked on construction projects building dams and digging ditches, the artists employed by the government created murals, sculptures, carvings, photographs and other works of art. Forty-eight post office murals were created in Michigan during this period of which 43 are still viewable. Over the years some murals were lost but most have survived, thanks to local historical societies and private collectors efforts when post offices were scheduled for demolition.

WRITING IN Michigan History magazine, Ruby noted, “The portrayal of American landscapes and rural scenes characterized a type of art dominant in the 1930s called American Scene painting. Government officials insisted this was the most appropriate style for public art and most of the artists concurred.” Approximately one percent of the total cost of construction of the building was set aside to pay for the artwork. The average payment to an artist was $700. A large building such as the North Western Branch in Detroit paid $2,800 for its mural while the smaller office in Clare paid $500. When a new building was completed, the government issued a call for artists to submit ideas for a mural and an independent panel of artists would select the winner.

Each work of art was to be recognizable by the average person. Also, it had to be viewable from a distance as the murals were designed to go on the wall above the doors, post boxes and windows. For the Rogers City Post Office mural, the artist selected the town’s main source of income at the time, the Calcite operation, for his subject.

THE MURAL features a view of the plant and two Great Lakes freighters, the Ream and the Taylor. The Taylor had formerly been named the Munson, the name was changed after the painting had been completed and it is possible to see the name change on the painting today. The mural was completely cleaned and restored in 1988 by well-known art historian and conservator, Tony Rajer. Rajer is based in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. A small dark square in the upper right hand corner of the mural was not cleaned to provide perspective to how different the painting looked before the restoration work. Many people go in and out of the Rogers City post office every day to check their mail or send parcels without ever looking up at the mural. They are usually looking for keys or reading some address as they pass through the lobby.

OTHER PEOPLE admire our heritage from afar. For example, a collector of post office murals from Alabama, Jimmy Emerson, recently sent a disposable camera to the Rogers City post office with a request for a photo of the mural and one of the outside of the building. Emerson has a passion for post office history and Depression era murals. The 28 year-old doctor of vetinary medicine has collected scores of photos and shares them with other collectors on the Internet. He plans to visit Michigan this summer for a first hand look at some of the state’s vintage post offices and artwork. The artist of the Rogers City mural, James John Calder, was born in 1907 and lived in Detroit where he attended the Society of Arts and Crafts school. He won a number of awards and scholarships showing his works in many nationally known exhibitions.

CALDER’S FIRST mural was for the St. Clair post office in 1937. In 1939 he entered a national competition to produce a mural for a post office in each of the 48 states of the union at the time. It was the largest competition of its kind. The Section of Fine Arts of the U.S. Treasury Department commissioned the works. Four nationally known artists judged more than 1470 entries from all 48 states. The Post Office in Grand Ledge was selected to represent Michigan. A visit to the Grand Ledge Public Library where the Historical Society keeps records about the town produced a wealth of information pertinent to the mural artist and the federal program that funded the work. Archivist Suzanne Schramski was only too glad to stop what she was doing and start searching the stacks for relevant files. Most of the facts reported in this article were verified as a result of

Schramski’s valuable assistance.

The mural artists were chosen as part of an anonymous competition. Each artist submitted an unsigned one-quarter scale rendition of the proposed mural along with a sealed envelope containing the artist’s name and address. The mural in Grand Ledge was almost lost when a maintenance crew showed up with a work order saying they were to paint every wall in the building. The postmaster was so incensed by the thought of painting over the rural scene in the lobby that he called the regional office in Chicago to get permission to prevent the workers from covering the mural.

Calder painted the Rogers City mural the year after he completed the one in Grand Ledge. He eventually went to work for the automotive industry as an illustrator and continued in that capacity until his retirement in the 1970s.

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