Panel 5, Legend of James Edward Hamilton – Barefoot Mailman (mural study, West Palm Beach, Florida Post Office)

Stevan Dohanos, Panel 5, Legend of James Edward Hamilton--Barefoot Mailman (mural study, West Palm Beach, Florida Post Office), 1940, watercolor on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, 1982.20.2
Copied Stevan Dohanos, Panel 5, Legend of James Edward Hamilton--Barefoot Mailman (mural study, West Palm Beach, Florida Post Office), 1940, watercolor on paperboard, sheet: 14 x 22 in. (35.6 x 55.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, 1982.20.2

Artwork Details

Title
Panel 5, Legend of James Edward Hamilton – Barefoot Mailman (mural study, West Palm Beach, Florida Post Office)
Artist
Date
1940
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
sheet: 14 x 22 in. (35.6 x 55.9 cm)
Credit Line
Transfer from the General Services Administration
Mediums
Mediums Description
watercolor on paperboard
Classifications
Subjects
  • New Deal — Treasury Section of Painting and Sculpture — Florida
  • Animal — reptile — alligator
  • Study — mural study
  • Landscape — marsh
  • Portrait male — Hamilton, James Edward — knee length
  • Landscape — plant — Spanish moss
  • Occupation — service — postman
  • Travel — water — rowboat
Object Number
1982.20.2
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1982.20.2

Artwork Description

In a six-panel cycle for the West Palm Beach post office Stevan Dohanos illustrated the story of James Edward Hamilton, a mail carrier who walked a route along the beach between Lake Worth and Miami, Florida. According to one account, he was attacked by alligators while attempting to retrieve a mail skiff in 1887, and lost his life "in the line of duty."

Special Delivery: Murals for the New Deal Era, 1988