Ohio State University mural study   Save
Ohio History Connection Museum
Description: Study sketch for a mural by Emerson Burkhart. The sketch in pencil on brown paper shows two men and a woman gathered around a man seated in a chair. The seated figure is Abraham Lincoln. All of the figures are in 19th century clothing. The drawing has a grid of five squares vertically and six squares horizontally for 30 total squares. On a wall in the background there is a map showing the outline of the United States, which is labeled "UNITED STATES of AM. / US 1863." At the bottom border there is text, "A LINCOLN 1939 EMERSON BURKHART." There is red paint on the lower left edge of the drawing. On the back in pencil is written ""Sketch for section of / W.P.A. mural in / Social Administration Building / Library O. S. Univ. Campus / 1939-1940." More text is written in pencil on the back, but is not legible. It is one of the many studies for murals commissioned to Burkhart in 1930s, some of them funded by the Works Progress Administration Federal Art Project. Several of the murals can still be found at Stillman Hall on the Ohio State University campus and one of them is located at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. Burkhart (1905-1969) was an artist very well known to Columbus residents during his lifetime. He was born in Union Township, Ohio. After graduating from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1927, he moved to the East Coast and studied art under the direction of Charles Hawthorne, among others. He returned to Ohio in 1931 to teach at Ohio School of Art in Columbus. He painted 3,000 pieces during his career, many of which were portraits of Ohio residents. In addition to painting local street scenes and rural landscapes, he is also known for numerous self-portraits. He was married to Mary Ann Burkhart, née Martin (1918-1955), a famous New York art model who became an artist herself. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: H82908
Subjects: Burkhart, Emerson (1905-1969); Cultural Ohio--Art and Artists; Public art; Federal Art Project; Works Progress Administration; Ohio State University--History
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)