Wednesday, July 18, 2018

New Deal Alaska Art (3/5): "Mail Delivery North" and "Black Fish" totem pole

Above: "Mail Delivery North," a sculpture by Edmond Amateis (1897-1981), created while he was in the New Deal's Section of Fine Arts, 1941. This is one of four related sculptures--the others being "Mail Delivery South," "Mail Delivery East," and "Mail Delivery West"--that Amateis created for the exterior of the U.S. Post Office building at 900 Market Street, Philadelphia. According to the website "Association for Public Art," this sculpture depicts a "parka-clad Alaska native" and his dog sled team, in the "arctic North." The Wikipedia page for Amateis states that he was president of the National Sculpture Society from 1942 to 1944. Photo courtesy of Gray Brechin.

Above: The "Black Fish" totem pole at Saxman Indian Village, Tongass National Forest, ca. 1939. This totem was restored by the Civilian Conservation Corps. Photo courtesy of the National Archives.

No comments:

Post a Comment