New Deal Controversy Erupts through Somerset Mural

April 22nd, 2009

By Guest Blogger David Lembeck

During the administration of FDR the Treasury Department’s Section of Painting and Sculpture commissioned works of public art, used to communicate civic values and uplift a population discouraged by the Great Depression. The greatest controversy erupted over the mural for Somerset County. At first glance, it’s hard to imagine that Spring Planting, a charming autumnal agricultural scene, could offend anyone.

Many residents of Somerset were already angry with the Treasury Department about their new post office. Instead of a building that would blend harmoniously with the surrounding architecture, the Treasury Department’s private architect designed a severe moderne-style building. The blocky post office set in the center of the community clashed with the ornate neoclassical style county courthouse across the street and necessitated the removal of a much-beloved copper beech tree. One newspaper editorial bluntly blamed Somerset’s U.S. Representative J. Buell Snyder (1877–1946). “The building stands out as a witness to Congressman Snyder’s dislike of Somerset,” the newspaper editorialized. “One cannot conceive of a more suitable means by which Mr. Snyder could have spat in the faces of the citizens of Somerset than by the erection of that building. It is an abomination.”

When rumors circulated that the farmer depicted in the lower left of the post office mural was a portrait of Snyder, the public grew even more agitated and hostile. Conservatives reviled Snyder, an ardent New Dealer, and accused him of “emptying the Treasury.” A front page article in a local newspaper helped stir a storm. “The Republican party chiefs have determined that if the face of J. Buell Snyder appears in the Post Office they will boycott the postal system . . . and start an independent system of their own.” Alexander Kostellow (1897–1954), at work painting Somerset—Farm Scene in his New York studio, was dismayed by the controversy and wrote to Rowan for assistance. “With reluctance, I would like to ask you for a favor, write me a letter, instructing me not to put any likeness of any living politician, in the mural . . . I am sure a note from you to me would settle the difficulties.”

To coincide with the national 75th anniversary of the New Deal, The State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg has included the work of painter Alexander J. Kostellow’s Somerset-Farm Scene in the special exhibition A Common Canvas: Pennsylvania’s New Deal Post Office Murals.

Read the Post-Gazette Article New Deal art filled post offices.