Work Project Administration

Jasper Mural

Jesse Hull Mayer won the WPA competition with her piece Indiana Farming Scene in Late Autumn (11’4” X 4’). Mayer painted this mural (typically a large painting hung or painted directly on a wall) using oil paints. We see a house, barns, and trees that are typical to this particular area in Indiana. We see a female figure, possibly the grandmother, at the mailbox reading a letter, the family loading pumpkins to the left, and many varieties of animals in the distance. Mayer uses a subdued color pallet that is also typical of the Indiana autumn months of September and October. Think of the leaves on the trees when they just start to change. Burnt reds, subtle golden tones, pumpkin orange, and different shades of greens make up this quaint piece.

We can easily trace this piece and its subject matter to the 19th century movement Realism, and Regionalism a 20th century derivation of the Realist movement.