April 5, 2022 – Mayville, WI – An article about the rural painting at the US Post Office in West Bend, WI has jumped to another level of interest as a second painting by Peter Rotier has been found at the US Post Office in neighboring Dodge County.
The painting is titled “Wisconsin Rural Scene” and depicts local farmer Maurice Ryan, dressed in blue coveralls, working the field with his twin sons.
The painting by artist Rotier was installed in November 1940 and currently hangs at the US Post Office in Mayville, WI, 7 N. School Street.
The cornerstone on the Post Office indicates the building dates to 1939. A video from the Post Office also shows the painting but with richer colors.
Similar to the painting in West Bend, WI, Rotier captures the rolling hills of the Kettle Moraine.
Graeme Reid with the Museum of Wisconsin Art described Rotier’s work as “a rather interesting slight stylization rounding of curves and forms.”
Click HERE to see more paintings by artist Peter Rotier
The paintings hang in over 1,200 US Post Offices across the country.
The paintings in Mayville and West Bend were a direct result of President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal, which was designed to stimulate the economy by using federal money to create jobs for unemployed artists.
Click HERE to read more on the WPA and Post office art in The Smithsonian
According to an article by Mary Michie in Wisconsin Art History, the Public Works Art Project and the Section of Painting and Sculpture where murals and sculpture commissioned by the Treasury Department for hundreds of post offices and courthouses under construction.
According to Michie, “approximately one percent of the construction costs for the buildings were allocated for artwork.”
There were parameters for the pieces, which Reid said had to appeal to the majority.
“Because they were paid for with federal money, there could be no nudes, no abstraction and no hint of communism; the piece had to play to local tastes and surroundings,” Reid said.
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The paintings are not considered rare, there are 27 other Post Office murals and reliefs across Wisconsin.
The Museum of Wisconsin Art also has the painting on collection from Hudson, Wisconsin.
“Unloading a Riverboat at Hudson” was painted by Ruth Grotenrath and previously hung in the Hudson Post Office.
Neighboring communities with WPA art also include Hartford, Fond du Lac, and Sheboygan.
Although many in the community may not be aware of the painting’s tie to the depression, Reid said West Bend is very lucky to have the piece.
“I’m not sure if people in the community really understand the relevance but we should be glad the Post Office has hung onto it because a lot of these works have been lost over the years.”