Existing comment:
The works of art commissioned for the Post Office Department Building serve not only as artistic interpretations of history, but also as catalysts for dialogue about the nature of public art and an artist's freedom of expression. The artwork neither sanctions any specific event, nor censures any culture or heritage. Rather, these works of art offer an opportunity to juxtapose contemporary views of American history and expansionism with those prevalent in the 1930s, to question perceptions and stereotypes, and to explore the history and heritage of all Americans.
Franklin D. Roosevelt, thirty-second President of the United States from 1933-1945, assumed the Presidency at the depth of the Great Depression. He brought hope as he promised prompt, vigorous action, and asserted in his Inaugural Address, "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself." |