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The "new" Newcomerstown, Ohio Post Office opened in 1939.
Newcomerstown Post
Office
Canal
Street, Newcomerstown, Ohio 43832
Men and Machines
by Cesare Stea, 1939
Plaster bas-relief, 4.25 x 11.5 feet
This piece of
WPA period art can be viewed in the main lobby area of the
Newcomerstown post
office.
Cesare Stea (1893-1960), an Italian immigrant from New York City
(born in Bari, Italy August 17, 1893) used a bold and powerful
design of men at work manufacturing rasps and files in this
relief at the Newcomerstown Post Office, 133 West Canal Street,
Newcomerstown, Ohio. His work is characteristic of the
industrial imagery used by New Deal artists throughout the
nation.
Cesare Stea's work for the Bowery Bay Sewage Disposal Plant, New
York Ohio Post Office Artwork Collection
This photographic collection of the Ohio Historical Society
reflects thirty depression-era murals and reliefs from
twenty-five of the more than sixty Ohio post offices with
such historic works. The New Deal artworks were collected
with the financial assistance of the Ohio Arts Council's
Visual Arts and Crafts Program. Some of the images below,
photographed by Connie Girard, were published in the
Society's journal Timeline (June-July 1989). The article,
NOT BY BREAD ALONE: Post Office Art of the New Deal, was
written by Gerald Markowitz and Marlene Park. The quoted
material below constitutes their photo captions used in the
article.
The photographs and text are copyrighted and reproduced here
with the permission of the Society. Contact the
Archives/Library, Ohio Historical Society, 1985 Velma
Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43211 for further information.
Some of the artists named below are linked to the U.S.
General Service Administration (GSA) Cultural and
Environmental Affairs Division's Fine Arts Collection.
Selecting work(s) listed under their name will yield
biographical information. You may also search for the work
of other artists employed on federal government projects
listed at that site by state, artist, and keyword.
(Most of the post office works of art were funded under the
Treasury Department's Section commissions. Those works that
were created using TRAP funds are so indicated. Although the
WPA funded the construction of post office buildings, the
artwork was not WPA but was usually produced under the
Section or TRAP programs.)
Newcomerstown
Men and Machines by Cesare Stea.
Plaster bas-relief, 4 1/4 x 11 1/2 feet, 1939.
"Italian immigrant Cesare Stea of New York City used a
powerful pattern of men at work in his relief for
Newcomerstown, representing the manufacture of rasps and
files. His work is characteristic of the industrial imagery
used by New Deal artists throughout the nation."
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