In the small blue-collar town outside Pittsburgh where I grew up, there is an historical mural in the stairwell of our library. (depicting the history of the town) As a frequent visitor to the library throughout childhood and teenage, I had many occasions to stand in the outer hall and admire the mural. It was done in 1940 by a WPA artist, Harold Carpenter. It is a vertical mural, and (unlike the Osborne murals) it takes an “all in” approach; and all visual elements are woven together in a swirl-like composition. One sees trappers trudging through the Allegheny Mountains, rowdy workman’s taverns as well as dignified churches, well-known iconic bridges, nearby steel plants with their belching smokestacks, idealized rows of suburban tract housing, off to the distant horizon.
An especially wonderful trolley car, and more. In recent years, a crowd-funding endeavor paid to have the mural totally cleaned and repaired. Naturally, I recalled it in a much earlier iteration, and was startled to see the vibrant “true” colors. I have not been able to find out anything further about Harold Carpenter, and how he came to paint the mural — but I am
thrilled that the mural remains……….a hometown panorama.
Preservation! Onward and upward.