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Wall-to-Wall America Post Office Murals in the Great Depression Karl Ann Marling |
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A revealing cultural history of this American art form. In her intriguing and heavily illustrated look at post office murals of the 1930s, Karal Ann Marling examines these unique government-sponsored works of art not only as paintings but as part of American cultural history. Depicting scenes from the farm, the frontier, and the factories, these murals were commissioned by the Treasury Department during the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Placed in the building where everyone in town had reason to stop, the thousand-odd paintings discussed here were truly intended to hold appeal for everyone. This spirited and often irreverent discussion offers a close look at the murals and what they represented to small-town America during the Great Depression. "Marling has created one of the freshest and finest contributions to the study of American culture in the last generation." —New York Times Book Review "It's impossible in this limited space to do justice to the vast range Marling covers, the scores of amusing anecdotes she tells, or the variety of provocative questions she poses. Wall-to-Wall America is a groundbreaking book." —The Nation "Marling tells the complex story with unflagging gusto, wit, and learning." —National Review “This book is an outstanding example of how to restore art to the larger culture and to see it as social expression for both artist and audience.” —American History Review Karal Ann Marling is professor of American studies and art history at the University of Minnesota. She is the author of numerous books on American culture, including Designing Disney's Theme Parks (1997), Graceland: Going Home with Elvis (1996), and George Washington Slept Here (1988) and The Colossus of Roads (2000). 364 pages | 131 black-and-white illustrations | 2000 |
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$22.50 Paper