Murals adorn walls on buildings all across America.
Murals may appear to be nothing more than big paintings displayed on walls or ceilings. However, the National Society of Mural Painters says murals are "art for the public space"---designed for the specific places in which they are painted. Thousands of murals can be found across the country in schools, hospitals, courthouses, libraries, parks, churches, temples and other public areas. Some of America's most famous murals depict influential historical events and people while also expressing opinions about controversial political and social issues.
Thomas Hart Benton's "America Today"
This gigantic nine-panel mural depicts America's growing industry and culture in the 1920's. It was finished in the early 1930's after the Great Depression sent the country into economic collapse. Its popularity helped start a Works Progress Administration mural-painting program. The mural was originally installed at the New School in New York City and has since been moved to the lobby of the AXA Equitable Tower at 1290 Avenue of the Americas.
Diego Rivera's "Pan American Unity"
Rivera left a large artistic legacy in America, painting and traveling extensively throughout the country in the 1930's and 1940's. Rivera said this mural was meant to show "the marriage of artistic expression of the North and South on this continent." Many indigenous art forms are displayed in the mural as well as symbols of modern-day technology. It is currently displayed at the City College of San Francisco in the Diego Rivera Theatre.
Jose Clemente Orozco's "The Epic of American Civilization"
Orozco, another Mexican artist, spent almost three years painting this enormous piece that covers 3,200 square feet in Dartmouth College's Baker Library. Much like Rivera's and Benton's work, Orozco covered broad historical themes in this mural, depicting ancient Aztec rituals and the growth of modern American industry.
John Steuart Curry's "Tragic Prelude"
Curry, a native Kansan, struck up controversy in the late 1930's when he painted this mural in the Kansas Statehouse in Topeka. The giant scene depicts abolitionist John Brown with a bloody Bible in one hand and a rifle in the other. Many Kansans at the time thought of Brown as a hero and despised Curry's violent depiction. Due to public outcry, Curry refused to sign the mural. In 1992, the Kansas legislature issued an official apology to Curry, nearly 50 years after the artist's death.
