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"Rural Texas Gulf Coast"
1939Artist:
Milford Zornes
1908-2008
Photos courtesy Gerald Massey |
El Campo Post Office Mural
"Rural Texas Gulf Coast" by Milford Zornes
Photo courtesy Gerald
Massey, March 2009 |
The MuralPainted
in 1939, the mural was removed in 1963 when the post office was redesigned. Stored
for years with most of the glue and plaster still attached, it was restored in
1984 at a cost of $14,650 and remounted in the traditional mural location – over
the postmaster’s door.
Visitor’s note: Although most post office
murals can be visited at any time of day, the modernization of the El
Campo post office has separated postal boxes from the counter, making the
mural accessible only during hours of operation. |
El Campo Post Office Mural detail - Milford Zornes signature
Photo courtesy
Gerald Massey,
March 2009 |
The ArtistBorn
near Camargo, Oklahoma in January 1908, Milford’s father attempted to raise livestock
there before moving to California via Boise, Idaho. His first formal art lessons
took place in high school and after a short-lived stint as a photographer, he
moved to Santa Maria, California and later to San Francisco. In 1927 he enrolled
in the Otis College of Art and Design which was then simply known as the Otis
Art College. He later taught at the school and became art director for the Padua
Hills Theater in Claremont, California. During WWII
he served two years in the U.S. Army in China. He became well-known as a California
artist and his work is included in collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art,
The Library of Congress, the White House Collection and the Los Angeles County
Museum of Art. He painted at least two post office murals – the one featured here
and the other in Claremont, California. It was in Claremont that Zornes died in
February of 2008 – having reached the age of 100 years and one month. |
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"Rural Texas Gulf Coast" detail
Photo courtesy Gerald
Massey, March 2009 |
"Rural Texas Gulf Coast" detail
Photo courtesy Gerald
Massey, March 2009 |
"Rural Texas Gulf Coast" detail
Photo courtesy Gerald
Massey, March 2009 |
"Rural Texas Gulf Coast" detail
Photo courtesy Gerald
Massey, March 2009 |
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Mural detail. TE Photo, 2000 |
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Mural detail. TE Photo, 2000 | |
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