Harper School WPA-era murals

Harper School’s Hidden Treasure!

The District 39 Educational Foundation is excited to announce the restoration of both murals hanging in the auditorium of Harper School. After careful research by Foundation Trustee Holly Berman, the importance of these Depression-era pieces became apparent. The cost of the first restoration was covered by a $12,000 grant from the District 39 Educational Foundation. We have raised $15,000 for the restoration of the second mural and suitable lighting.  Work to restore the second mural will begin March 12, 2007

The two murals were painted in 1936 and 1938 by Chicago artist Gustaf Dalstrom, an award-winning painter commissioned through the WPA’s Federal Art Project, one of the nation’s first federally funded art programs created under Franklin D. Roosevelt. They were originally painted for a classroom in the Laurel School in Wilmette. They were moved to the auditorium of Harper School in 1973 when Laurel was demolished.

Farming is a large pastoral panorama with cows, horses, sheep, ducks, geese, and birds scattered across a rolling green pasture that is dotted with a variety of leafy trees. A boy and girl are placed near a flowering tree. The focal point of Gardening is a colorful patch of flowers being tended by workmen with hoe, spade and wheelbarrow and watered by a young girl. The murals are mounted on the long side walls of Harper School’s auditorium.

Despite their age and the effects of the move to Harper School, the murals are in generally good condition. However, years of dust and damage sustained in the move have taken their toll on these unique works of art. The restoration work of the first mural, Gardening, was done in the spring of 2006 by Parma Conservation of Chicago, a firm with extensive experience working on murals, including others by the same artist, Gustav Dalstrom.

The Educational Foundation is leading a fund-raising campaign in the Wilmette community to restore the second mural, Farming. These murals are a treasured part of our history, depicting life in rural America. As noted in a 1938 Wilmette Life article, “The idea has been to create a mural that would be in harmony with the lives of younger children.” The conservation of these murals provides another chance to affect the lives of the children in our community by providing an exciting learning opportunity. The Gardening conservation project, combining art, science and history, gave Harper students the opportunity to view the conservators at work last April. We hope to extend this opportunity to other Wilmette schools when Farming is restored.

The tale of Harper’s treasured murals has been produced into a documentary film and can be seen on local cable, Channel 6, WCTV. DVD copies of the documentary are also available at the Wilmette Public Library.

A school site describes the project and provides pictures of the first mural and the restoration process.

The Wilmette Life ran an article on September 28, 2006 about the project.

Here is a donation and information page about the project (PDF)

Photos (click on thumbnail for large images)