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Summary:
Papers concerning murals by Foster, including a letter, 1938, and memo, 1937, from Franklin D. Roosevelt to Edward Bruce regarding Foster's murals for the post office in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. (completed under the Section of Painting and Sculpture of the Treasury Department, 1938).
Also includes clippings and photographs concerning Foster's W.P.A. post office murals in Cranford, Freehold, and Millburn, N.J., and in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.; and an autobiographical speech about portrait painting, "Reflections of an Artist," 1982.
Citation:
Gerald S. Foster papers, 1930-1982. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Additional Forms:
35mm microfilm reel 3894 available at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.
Biography Note:
Muralist, painter, illustrator. Died 1987. Studied at Princeton, at the National Academy of Design, and at the Art Students League. Worked for the Section of Painting and Sculpture of the Treasury Department. His post office mural in Freehold, N.J. made a favorable impression on Roosevelt, who encouraged him in his work on another mural in Pougkeepsie, N.Y.
Language Note:
English .
Provenance:
Donated 1986 by Gerald Foster.
Location Note:
Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 750 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001
