SOUTH KINGSTOWN -- After a four year hiatus, a controversial
mural depicting 18th century slavery in Narragansett will once again be
on display for residents of South County and beyond.
The Pettaquamscutt Historical Society announced it will rededicate the
mural, painted by renowned illustrator and artist Ernest Hamlin Baker,
with a public ribbon-cutting ceremony at 11 a.m. June 7.
The announcement is the culmination of a 1 1/2 year fight to display the
painting. The work was removed by the U.S. Postal Service from the
former Wakefield Post Office in 1999 and sent to an art conservation
center in Williamstown, Mass.
The future of the 14-by-6 foot painting, which has caused consternation
for some viewers, was unclear for some time.
It wasn't included in the design for the new post office, and several
different entities, including the town and the University of Rhode
Island, initially appeared interested in housing the artwork.
But as other suitors fell away, the most ardent remained: the local
historical society.
Housed in the former Washington County Jail in Kingston, the society's
director, Christopher Bickford, and board of directors were tireless in
their efforts to secure the mural, which was completed in 1939 as part
of the U.S. Treasury Department's Sections of Paintings and Sculpture
program.
Under the program, the federal government dedicated 1 percent of the
construction costs of public buildings to public art. During the 1930s
and continuing until 1943 when the program was discontinued because of
World War Two, nearly 1940s, 1,116 murals like the one painted by Baker
were commissioned at post offices throughout the country, and additional
artworks were commissioned for libraries and other public buildings,
Bickford said.
"The community has a strong sense of history and identity," tied to the
mural, Bickford said of keeping the mural in the area.
"The artist interviewed people in the area, had a sense of the terrain
and cared deeply about the painting. He wouldn't be pushed to complete
it until he was satisfied with the craftsmanship and the subject matter."
Baker, a famed illustrator who drew hundreds of magazine covers for
Fortune and Time magazines, took three years to complete the colorful
mural, which shows a white overseer and black slaves on a Narragansett
plantation.
He was paid $850.
Because of the sensitivity of the subject matter, Bickford said it's
important to place the mural in its historical context, and he is
developing a program for students who come to study it. Some residents
said the mural bothered them when it hung in the post office for 50
years.
The District Manager of the U.S. Postal Service, Don Marshall, said
earlier this year he had decided to send the mural to the future
Heritage Harbor Museum in Providence, citing the historical society's
limited hours of operation as the main reason.
Marshall said the Providence museum would "provide greater public
access" as the local organization is only open from 1 to 4 p.m.
Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays and by appointment and has limited
handicapped access.
However, after political leaders, including U.S. Rep. James R. Langevin,
interceded on the historical society's behalf, and officials at the
Providence museum said they, too, wanted the mural to stay in South
County, Marshall relented and gave permission for the historical society
to borrow the mural on a long-term basis.
While a legal agreement has not yet been signed, postal service
spokeswoman Christine Dugas said that should happen soon and that the
mural "should be in its new home within a couple of months."
Bickford said he and the board will work to expand hours and provide
greater handicapped access but said those details still have to be
ironed out.
The mural will hang on the society's second floor in the Mumford Room,
which will be dedicated to life in South County during the 18th century.
Already a cupboard from the farmhouse of a plantation owner, Thomas
Mumford, sits in one corner. The building was fitted with new lights and
temperature controls a few years ago, Bickford said.
Now the society is trying to raise money for the mural's transportation
from Williamstown.
Those who wish to make a donation can send checks to: The Pettaquamscutt
Historical Society, Inc., 2636 Kingstown Road, Kingston, 02881.
