Historic Murals in Our Library

Historic Murals in Our Library
EAST MURAL
"Early California to 1800" [East Wall]

The Venice High School Library, located on the second floor of the Administration Building, faces Venice Blvd. and the Myrna Loy statue. We encourage all to view our historic murals painted by WPA artists led by Helen Lundeberg in 1940-1941. The two 12-by-35 foot panels are located on each end of the library.
The two large murals in the Venice High School Library, on opposite ends of the room, depict Southern California historical scenes. The story on the east wall begins with the earliest days of indigenous people and runs through 1799. Continuing in chronological order, the west wall’s vignettes depict significant events from 1800 through the early 1900’s.

History:

Helen Lundeberg led this project, approved and funded by the WPA Federal Art Project (Works Project Administration). Work began in May 1940 with Grace Clements assisting Lundeberg with research, design and painting. They were then joined by five other artists, Edwin Emery, Miriam Farrington, Auriel Leitner, Elizabeth Mills, and Syrena Swanson. Painting directly on the 12-by-35 foot plaster walls, the team of artists outlined the scenes, and then filled the forms with soft colors. The WPA mural project completed on January 14, 1941.