How it used to be. They may or may not have looked quite like this. Bits and pieces for various murals and other pictures by American artist Kenyon Cox. Living from 1856 to 1919, he was an early instructor at the Art Students League of New York. He painted murals for the state capitols of Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Also for the Library of Congress.

Study for a mural entitled “The Light of Learning” which was donated by William Hays to the Winona Free Public Library in Winona Minnesota, in 1910. It depicts the allegories of the arts, from right to left: Art, Poetry, Romance, Learning, Philosophy, History, and Science. Demi-lune. 1909. American. Oil on canvas. Kenyon Cox, artist. Signed and dated Kenyon Cox 1909 on the lower right and inscribed Winona Library on the lower left. Exhibited at the ‘Twenty-Sixth Annual Exhibition’, Architectural League of New York, New York, New York, ca. 1912. Image © Bonhams 2001-2022. Fair use license. via https://m.bonhams.com/auctions/13316/lot/68/

Tradition. 1916. American. Oil on canvas. Kenyon Cox, artist. Collections of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cc0 License 1.0. https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1917.9 . Image via https://fineartamerica.com/featured/tradition-kenyon-cox.html

The Blessed Damozel ‘One of God’s Choristers’. 1886. American. Oil, grisaille on canvas. Kenyon Cox, artist. Signed Kenyon Cox on the lower left. Collections of the Brooklyn Museum. Artwork itself in the public domain due to age. via https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/125603

Science and Art, Decorations for rotunda, Iowa State Capitol – The Progress of Civilization. Scale 1 inch + 1 foot. Mural study. 1905-1906. American. Oil on canvas. Kenyon Cox, artist. Signed on the lower right. Image source: americanart.si.edu. Collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. In the public domain in the United States because the artist died in 1919. via https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kenyon_Cox_-The_Progress_of_Civilization,_Science_and_Art(mural_study,State_Capitol,_Des_Moines,_Iowa)–1959.10.5-_Smithsonian_American_Art_Museum.jpg

Art larger than life. Murals, mostly historical in theme. American. Violet Oakley, artist (1874-1961). First American woman to receive a public mural commission. Did a set of murals for the Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg, two of which are included here.

Mural in the Pennsylvania State Capitol. ca. 1902. — Mural in the Pennsylvania State Capitol. ca. 1902. Image © 2019 Library of the Senate of Pennsylvania. Fair use license. via https://www.library.pasen.gov/Exhibitions/Spirit-Substance-100-Years-of-Violet-Oakley-Capitol-Muralist.cfm

"Unity." Mural located in the Pennsylvania State Capitol. ca. 1902. — “Unity.” Mural located in the Pennsylvania State Capitol. ca. 1902. Image © 2019, WITF. Fair use license. via https://www.witf.org/arts-culture/2016/03/violet-oakley-art-and-legacy.php

"Youth and the Arts." Lunette, part of the "Building the House of Wisdom" set of murals commissioned by Charlton Yarnall for his mansion in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 1911. — “Youth and the Arts.” Lunette, part of the “Building the House of Wisdom” set of murals commissioned by Charlton Yarnall for his mansion in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 1911. Image © 2019 Woodmere Art Museum. Fair use license. via https://woodmereartmuseum.org/explore-online/collection/youth-and-the-arts

Beautiful art from California. American Art Deco. All by John Gabriel Beckman. In his prime, he was Hollywood’s premier muralist and did the murals for Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. From the collections of the Catalina Island Museum.

"North Wall Falcon." — “North Wall Falcon.” Detail from a preliminary drawing for the north wall of the Avalon Casino Theatre. 1929. Watercolor and graphite on paper. Image © 2019 by Catalina Island Museum. Fair use license. via https://www.catalinamuseum.org/product-page/john-gabriel-beckman-north-wall-falcon

"South Wall Antelope." — “South Wall Antelope.” Detail from a preliminary drawing for the south wall of the Avalon Casino Theatre. 1929. Watercolor and graphite on paper. Image © 2019 by Catalina Island Museum. Fair use license. via https://www.catalinamuseum.org/product-page/john-gabriel-beckman-poster-south-wall-antelope

"South Wall Birds." — “South Wall Birds.” Detail from a preliminary drawing for the south wall of the Avalon Casino Theatre. 1929. Watercolor and graphite on paper. Image © 2019 by Catalina Island Museum. Fair use license. via https://www.catalinamuseum.org/product-page/john-gabriel-beckman-poster-south-wall-birds

"North Wall Galleon." — “North Wall Galleon.”Detail from a preliminary drawing for the north wall of he Avalon Casino Theatre. 1929. Watercolor and graphite on paper. Image © 2019 by Catalina Island Museum. Fair use license. via https://www.catalinamuseum.org/product-page/john-gabriel-beckman-poster-north-wall-galleon Watercolour and Graphite on Paper, 1929

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