The Armistice Letter (Mural Study, Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania Post Office)

Eugene Higgins, The Armistice Letter (Mural Study, Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania Post Office), ca. 1940-1941, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 1965.18.101
Eugene Higgins, The Armistice Letter (Mural Study, Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania Post Office), ca. 1940-1941, oil on canvas, 18 1⁄4 x 32 1⁄4 in. (46.5 x 81.8 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 1965.18.101

Artwork Details

Title
The Armistice Letter (Mural Study, Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania Post Office)
Artist
Date
ca. 1940-1941
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
18 1⁄4 x 32 1⁄4 in. (46.5 x 81.8 cm)
Credit Line
Transfer from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Study — mural study
  • Recreation — leisure — letter reading and writing
  • New Deal — Treasury Section of Painting and Sculpture — Pennsylvania
  • Occupation — farm — sowing
  • History — United States — World War II
  • Figure group — family
  • Landscape — Pennsylvania — Beaver Falls
Object Number
1965.18.101
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1965.18.101

Artwork Description

Eugene Higgins worked for the Works Progress Administration in the 1930s, and in this mural study for the Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, post office, he showed a farm family taking a break from their chores to read the day’s mail. The title tells us that the letter brings news of the end of World War I. Painted just before the United States entered the Second World War, Higgins’s mural anticipated the grim reality ahead. Bolts of lightning, rearing horses, and roiling clouds represent the looming conflict, while the dove of peace promises a brighter future after the storm has passed.

Works by this artist (13 items)

View all artworks
Eugene Higgins, The Far West, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1975.9
The Far West
Artist
Not on view
Eugene Higgins, Hunger under a Bridge, 1912, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Brook, 1983.97
Hunger under a Bridge
Artist
Date1912
oil on canvas
Not on view
Eugene Higgins, Untitled, pen and ink, charcoal and pencil, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1975.181
Untitled
Artist
pen and ink, charcoal and pencil
Not on view
Eugene Higgins, The Black Cloud, n.d., oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Henry Ward Ranger through the National Academy of Design, 1968.2
The Black Cloud
Artist
Daten.d.
oil on canvas
Not on view