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| City of Nokomis Post Office |
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| "Coal Mining" Nokomis, Illinois Post Office Bernard J. Rosenthal - 1941 |
Nokomis Post Office
121 S. Pine Street
Nokomis, Illinois 62075
(217) 563-2114
Window Hours:
Monday - Friday:
Saturday:
121 S. Pine Street
Nokomis, Illinois 62075
(217) 563-2114
Window Hours:
Monday - Friday:
Saturday:
On May 6, 1935, the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) was created to help provide economic relief to the citizens of
the United States who were suffering through the Great Depression. The artistic community had already become inspired
during the 1920s and '30s by the revitalization of the Italian Renaissance fresco style by the inspired creations of Mexican
muralists Diego Rivera, Jose Clemente Orozco, and David Alfaro Siqueriros. Certain visionary U.S. politicians decided to
combine the creativity of the new art movements with the values of the American people . The Federal Art Project was one
of the divisions of the W.P.A. created under Federal Project One. President Franklin D. Roosevelt had made several
attempts prior to the F.A.P. to provide employment for artists on relief, namely the Public Works of Art Project (P.W.A.P.)
which operated from 1933 to 1934 and the Treasury Department Section of Painting and Sculpture which was created in
1934 after the demise of the P.W.A.P. However, it was the F.A.P. which provided the widest reach, creating over 5,000 jobs
for artists and producing over 225,000 works of art for the American people.
It is this legacy of the thousands of workers who labored at their craft for little money but great pride which we have to
inspire us today. Although many of these works of art have been destroyed or stolen, those that remain must be
preserved. They stand as a reminder of a time in our country's history when dreams were not allowed to be destroyed by
economic disaster.
the United States who were suffering through the Great Depression. The artistic community had already become inspired
during the 1920s and '30s by the revitalization of the Italian Renaissance fresco style by the inspired creations of Mexican
muralists Diego Rivera, Jose Clemente Orozco, and David Alfaro Siqueriros. Certain visionary U.S. politicians decided to
combine the creativity of the new art movements with the values of the American people . The Federal Art Project was one
of the divisions of the W.P.A. created under Federal Project One. President Franklin D. Roosevelt had made several
attempts prior to the F.A.P. to provide employment for artists on relief, namely the Public Works of Art Project (P.W.A.P.)
which operated from 1933 to 1934 and the Treasury Department Section of Painting and Sculpture which was created in
1934 after the demise of the P.W.A.P. However, it was the F.A.P. which provided the widest reach, creating over 5,000 jobs
for artists and producing over 225,000 works of art for the American people.
It is this legacy of the thousands of workers who labored at their craft for little money but great pride which we have to
inspire us today. Although many of these works of art have been destroyed or stolen, those that remain must be
preserved. They stand as a reminder of a time in our country's history when dreams were not allowed to be destroyed by
economic disaster.
Bernard J. (Tony) Rosenthal
Born August 9, 1914, Chicago, IL. Studied: University of Michigan; A.
Archipenko; C. Milles. Exhibited: Art Institute of Chicago, 1939-1942;
Metropolitan Museum of Art (American Artists for Victory), 1942; Oakland Art
Gallery, 1941. Work: Illinois State Museum; Museum of Science & Industry,
Strauss Memorial Center, both in Chicago; USPO, Nokomis, IL (47). WWW85
Born August 9, 1914, Chicago, IL. Studied: University of Michigan; A.
Archipenko; C. Milles. Exhibited: Art Institute of Chicago, 1939-1942;
Metropolitan Museum of Art (American Artists for Victory), 1942; Oakland Art
Gallery, 1941. Work: Illinois State Museum; Museum of Science & Industry,
Strauss Memorial Center, both in Chicago; USPO, Nokomis, IL (47). WWW85