TexasEscapes.com HOME Welcome to Texas Escapes
A magazine written by Texas
Custom Search
New   |   Texas Towns   |   Ghost Towns   |   Counties   |   Trips   |   Features   |   Columns   |   Architecture   |   Images   |   Archives   |   Site Map


Post Office Murals




Counties
Texas Counties


Texas Towns
A - Z

Texas Art & Artists | Post Office Murals (WPA Murals)

BLAZING CANVASES

Prairie Fires in Oil and Tempera


Dahlov Ipcar's Yukon, Oklahoma WPA Mural "The Run" detail showing prairie fire

Yukon, Oklahoma WPA Mural “The Run" detail
TE photo 2009

“The Run, April 22, 1889, Taking the Lead"

Second only to Indian attack, prairie fires were the most terrifying threat to pioneers. The threat continues today with recent (2010) fires in Oklahoma, Texas and Colorado. Kansas seems to have diminished the threat by fighting (future) fire with (intentionally set) fire. Dead grass is burned after winter throughout Kansas, eliminating potential fuel and creating fertilizing ash. A fast-burning fire twelve inches tall can easily be controlled while drought-dry 30 inch grass can ignite outbuildings, cars and homes.

Charred Kansas landscape after a controlled
Charred Kansas landscape after a controlled fire
TE photo, April 2009

Prairie Fires became the subject of at least two Depression-era murals, and provided a backdrop for another. The following gallery comes from two Oklahoma murals and one from West Texas. They are:

  • Yukon, Oklahoma, (SW Oklahoma) “The Run, April 22, 1889, Taking the Lead” Artist Dahlov Ipcar painted the oil on canvas mural in 1941

  • Madill, Oklahoma, (South Central Oklahoma) “Prairie Fire” by Ethel Magafan, a tempera painting installed in 1941. Location: Madill’s current post office

  • Brownfield, Texas : (West Texas) "Ranchers of the Panhandle Fighting Prairie Fire with Skinned Steer" by Frank Machau. Located in the Brownfield Police Headquarters (the former Brownfield post office)

  • Brownfield TX WPA Mural - Ranchers of the Panhandle Fighting Prairie Fire with Skinned Steer by Frank Mechau
    "Ranchers of the Panhandle Fighting Prairie Fire with Skinned Steer" by Frank Mechau
    Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, March 2010
    "Ranchers of the Panhandle
    Fighting Prairie Fire with Skinned Steer"


    Madill, Oklahoma - PO mural “Prairie Fire” by Ethel Magafan,  1941
    “Prairie Fire"
    Detail of Madill, Oklahoma WPA Mural
    by Ethel Magafan

    TE photo


    Madill, Oklahoma - PO mural “Prairie Fire” cowboy & steers, by Ethel Magafan,  1941
    “Prairie Fire" detail
    TE photo


    Fighting a Prairie Fire - Collage
    A detail from the Brownfield mural was used for the cover of the book The Texas Post Office Murals. Image left shows the detail as it appears in place, while the right side shows a reverse image for the cover.

    More
    Texas Post Office Murals

    Related Topics:
    Texas Post Offices
    Texas Murals
    Texas Art & Artists
    BOOK The Texas Post Office Murals: Art for the People

    Texas Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories, landmarks and vintage or recent photos, please contact us.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     


    Texas Escapes Online Magazine »   Archive Issues » Home »
    TEXAS TOWNS & COUNTIES TEXAS LANDMARKS & IMAGES TEXAS HISTORY & CULTURE TEXAS OUTDOORS MORE
    Texas Counties
    Texas Towns A-Z
    Texas Ghost Towns

    TEXAS REGIONS:
    Central Texas North
    Central Texas South
    Texas Gulf Coast
    Texas Panhandle
    Texas Hill Country
    East Texas
    South Texas
    West Texas

    Courthouses
    Jails
    Churches
    Schoolhouses
    Bridges
    Theaters
    Depots
    Rooms with a Past
    Monuments
    Statues

    Gas Stations
    Post Offices
    Museums
    Water Towers
    Grain Elevators
    Cotton Gins
    Lodges
    Stores
    Banks

    Vintage Photos
    Historic Trees
    Cemeteries
    Old Neon
    Ghost Signs
    Signs
    Murals
    Gargoyles
    Pitted Dates
    Cornerstones
    Then & Now

    Columns: History/Opinion
    Texas History
    Small Town Sagas
    Black History
    WWII
    Texas Centennial
    Ghosts
    People
    Animals
    Food
    Music
    Art

    Books
    Cotton
    Texas Railroads

    Texas Trips
    Texas Drives
    Texas State Parks
    Texas Rivers
    Texas Lakes
    Texas Forts
    Texas Trails
    Texas Maps
    USA
    MEXICO
    HOTELS

    Site Map
    About Us
    Privacy Statement
    Disclaimer
    Contributors
    Staff
    Contact Us

     
    Website Content Copyright Texas Escapes LLC. All Rights Reserved