Confessions of a depression muralist

the long version

For more than fifty years, Frank W. Long's enchanting murals have graced the walls of post offices and other public buildings throughout the South and Midwest. All of them remain on display. In Confessions of a Depression Muralist, Long interweaves history and anecdote to offer a captivating and colorful memoir of his life as a government artist. "It was almost by accident that I became a painter of murals," writes Long. As he struggled to support his easel painting by working as a busboy and a wedding-cake designer, a fortuitous chain of events led to his commission to paint a pair of elaborate murals for a wealthy architect's new home. Although the circus and jungle scenes he created were later featured in American Architect, these murals might have been Long's last had a new government program not offered him an opportunity he could not refuse. In 1932 two influential individuals convinced the U.S. government to establish the Section of Fine Arts under the Department of Treasury. By setting aside a portion of the appropriation for each new government building to pay for custom murals, the Section hoped to develop the first truly American school of painting. From the bohemian atmosphere of Chicago's Towertown to the close-knit Appalachian community of Berea, Kentucky, where Long created his most popular murals, Confessions of a Depression Muralist follows the artist's fascinating career. Filled with Long's recollections of the colorful characters he met along the way, the book illuminates as well the process of mural painting and the artistic challenges of government-sponsored art.