Artist:

Wendell Jones, born Galena, KS 1899-died Rome, Italy 1956  Search this

Medium:

tempera, ink and pencil on fiberboard

Dimensions:

23 7/8 x 36 in. (60.8 x 91.5 cm.)

Type:

Painting

Date:

1942

Exhibition Label:

Consultation with local citizens regarding a mural's theme was sometimes insufficient to guarantee a mural's success. To prepare for his Cairo, Illinois commission, Wendell Jones talked with citizens who expressed pride that, despite periodic flooding of the Missouri River, the people of Cairo rallied and "not a drop of water ever got into the streets." In Sandbagging the Bulkheads Jones hoped to convey the epic heroism of citizens joining together, regardless of social class, to protect their city from impending disaster. On completion of the mural, however, citizens rebelled against a permanent reminder of the recurring threat. The Section succumbed to local objection and advised Jones not to install his painting. The mural has subsequently been lost.

Special Delivery: Murals for the New Deal Era, 1988

Topic:

Figure group  Search this

Figure group\male  Search this

Occupation\labor  Search this

Study\mural study  Search this

Landscape\Illinois\Cairo  Search this

New Deal\Treasury Section of Painting and Sculpture\Illinois  Search this

Credit Line:

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the Internal Revenue Service through the General Services Administration

Object number:

1962.8.60

Restrictions & Rights:

Usage conditions apply

See more items in:

Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection

Department:

Painting and Sculpture

Data Source:

Smithsonian American Art Museum

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/vk7e5f04d9f-6b17-49f0-a41a-6028533cbab5

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:saam_1962.8.60