A Life in Art
Fogel's art and murals, and the indelible mark they leave on communities from coast to coast.
Rejected Arizona Mural
In 1939, Seymour Fogel entered the United States Department of the Treasury’s Forty-Eight States Mural Competition, a national program intended to place a historically themed mural in a new post office in each of the forty-eight states. For the new post office in Safford, Arizona, Fogel proposed a bold design centered on Native American culture.
The Tenants of the Fifth Floor (1935)
This small document dated December 30, 1935, offers a surprisingly human glimpse into Seymour Fogel’s everyday world as a young New York artist. Typed at the top is a collective complaint: “We, the tenants of the fifth floor demand more heat! The cold makes it impossible to concentrate on work.” Beneath it is a list of signatures, including Fogel’s, suggesting a shared studio building or workplace where artists worked side by side through the winter.
In Focus: The Cohen Building Murals
Seymour Fogel’s murals The Wealth of the Nation (1941) and The Security of the People (1941) were created for the Social Security Building, now known as the Wilbur J. Cohen Federal Building in Washington, D.C. Positioned within the building’s entrance areas, these works reflect central New Deal themes …
A Personal Beginning
Growing up, my understanding of my grandfather, Seymour Fogel, did not begin in museums or history books, but it began at home, through stories.