CANAJOHARIE - PALATINE

CHAMBER of COMMERCE

Welcomes you to our historic villages in the Mohawk Valley

"The work was commissioned by the US Treasury Department, under their Section of Painting and Sculpture Program, 1934-1943. Treasury Department projects were commissioned works; suggested topics were supplied and "final" designs were often revised at the request of the Treasury Department officials or community representatives.... The Treasury Department focused on providing art work to the people, mostly in small towns and rural areas; the employment of artists was an important consideration but secondary to the art itself.  During its operation, the Section commissioned more than 1,000 murals. Democratic Vistas: Post Offices and Public Art in the New Deal by Marlene Park and Gerald Markowitz is an excellent source for more information."
Thanks to Suzan D. Friedlander, Cooperstown
 

Documentation posted on post office wall:

"ARTIST: ANATOL SHULKIN

"This mural commemorates the invention of the paper bag by a citizen of Canajoharie, James Arkell, during the period of the war between the states. Since cotton was scarce in the North, the invention had the humane result of making cotton more available for bandages instead of being used for bags, and it thus aided the Union cause.

"The central portion, of the mural, portrays the inventor, James Arkell, showing his first paper bag to the citizens of Canajoharie. At the right are members of his family, and in the right background, the first example of his machine. At the left are nurses applying cotton bandages to the wounds of a Union soldier, in the front an ambulance. In the left background another wounded soldier is brought in for treatment.

"The artist, Mr. Anatol Shulkin, of New York City, was born in Russia in 1899. His work has been shown in many national collections and exhibits and his paintings are included in many permanent collections, including that of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York City.

"The full size pencil sketch, used by the artist to transfer his mural to this wall, is maintained in storage at the Canajoharie Library and Art Gallery."