Milford Zornes - Original Sketch for Claremont Post Office Mural 1937

Milford Zornes - Original Sketch for Claremont Post Office Mural - "California Landscape"c. 1937.  10 x 21 inches framed.

In 1937, Milford Zornes (assisted by George Biddle) painted an enormous oil-on-canvas mural, “California Landscape,” in the Claremont, CA, post office. The mural was funded by the Treasury Relief Art Project (TRAP).

The 58′ x 3’4″ mural wraps around all four walls of the lobby. “There are clusters of trees, people walking along a road, a farmer leading two plough horses, and a couple in Mexican finery dancing. Bridges Auditorium, meant to represent Pomona College and the importance of higher education, is also portrayed” (Dunitz, p. 343).

Zornes was an Oklahoma-born watercolorist for whom Western landscapes were a favorite subject. He also did a New Deal mural for the post office in El Campo, Texas.

The post office in Claremont, CA, was constructed by the federal Treasury Department between 1935 and 1936. The design is Spanish (or Mexican) Revival, which was very popular in Southern California at the time. Still in use today, the post office houses a New Deal mural by Milford Zornes

• Name : Claremont Fine Arts