Work Project Administration

Paoli Mural

Tom Rost painted Rural Mail Carrier (12’ x 5’3”, oil on canvas). The piece was contracted on January 4, 1939 and installed on June 28, 1939. Rural Mail Carrier depicts a mail carrier delivering mail to the settlers of rural Indiana. In the scene, we see a mail carrier in a buggy, drawn by two horses, typical of the time period. Children run to greet the mail carrier, while mother and father await the delivery with a warm wave of the hand. In the distance, we see rolling hills of green grass and a courthouse nestled in a small valley town. Rost’s depiction of an everyday life scene such as delivering mail links this mural, like so many post office murals, to the Realist and Regionalist movements. Rost uses a linear approach to this piece by outlining the figures. The figures and objects do not bleed into their surroundings.