Mural Study
- Date
- 1936 or 1937
- Material
- Oil on panel
- made in
- New York, New York, United States, North and Central America
- Classification
- Paintings
- Collection
- American Art
- Current Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- sight in frame: 35 3/4 × 26 1/4 in. (90.8 × 66.7 cm)
framed: 40 × 30 3/4 × 1 1/2 in. (101.6 × 78.1 × 3.8 cm) - Credit Line
- Gift of the Federal Works Agency, Work Projects Administration
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 357:1943
NOTES
“Little boy blue, / Come blow your horn, / The sheep’s in the meadow, / The cow’s in the corn.” Selma Day combined elements of this nursery rhyme in a mural design intended for the Harlem Hospital. In late 1937, she covered the walls of its children’s ward with scenes from Mother Goose rhymes. Day was one of 36 painters who decorated the new hospital wing with murals, the first major commission awarded by the Federal Art Project to African American artists. A native New Yorker, Day worked as a commercial artist in advertising, followed by careers in marketing and interior design.
Provenance
- 1943
Federal Works Agency, Works Projects Administration, Chicago, IL
1943 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by the Federal Works Agency, Works Projects Administration [1]
Notes:
[1] In 1943, the Works Projects Administration was terminated, and works made under the project between 1935 and 1943 were distributed to public institutions throughout the United States. The Chicago branch of the WPA allocated a number of works to the Saint Louis Art Museum [receipt for allocation of works of art from the Federal Works Agency, Works Projects Administration, dated April 12, 1943, SLAM document files].
Federal Works Agency, Works Projects Administration, Chicago, IL
1943 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by the Federal Works Agency, Works Projects Administration [1]
Notes:
[1] In 1943, the Works Projects Administration was terminated, and works made under the project between 1935 and 1943 were distributed to public institutions throughout the United States. The Chicago branch of the WPA allocated a number of works to the Saint Louis Art Museum [receipt for allocation of works of art from the Federal Works Agency, Works Projects Administration, dated April 12, 1943, SLAM document files].
We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.