AARON BOHROD, "BREAKING THE PRAIRIE -- LOG CITY, 1837," 1938

oil paint on plaster 25' x 6' approx.

Located: Galesburg Post Office, 476 E. Main St.

Other works: "Old State Capitol in Vandalia," Vandalia, Ill., "Clinton Winter," Clinton, Ill.

Between the years 1936 to 1940 midwestern artist, Aaron Bohrod was commissioned by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) to paint three monumental size murals in three Illinois Post Offices. The Galesburg mural, "Breaking the Prairie -- Log City, 1837" depicts no less than 25 figures, both male and female ,and two dogs. They are involved in the labor of building the original prairie city of Galesburg.

Bohrod's figures are stoic; his palette grayed. His faces have even been termed "grim." But it's through his lively composition, where groupings of figures relate to each other, that the everyday and ordinary concerns of the citizens in a small town are revealed. To the left of center in the composition, a woman, back to the viewer, sits weeping on a tree stump. Her right arm hangs limp, holding an envelope, as a small boy comforts her. In front of her, an older woman reads a letter while cradling an infant. It's these personalized vignettes, within the larger picture story of building a community from scratch, that draws one into the mural and then peaks the curiosity.