The Attica Post Office building on the corner of Main and Exchange Street above opened September 18, 1937. It is identical in design
to theSpringville Post Office.
Its Treasury Department Section artwork, a mural, was installed in 1939. To read
more about the Treasury Department's Section Art program, look here.
"Fall in the Genesee Country," oil on canvas, 3' 6"' x 13' 4 1/4", Thomas J. Donnelly, 1938. Look here for a large view
Thomas J. Donnelly (1893-1971) was among those selected by the Treasury Department' Section for Painting and Sculpture
in 1935
(see the article below. In addition to the Attica Post Office in New York, he would also complete murals for post offices
in
Clyde, Mt. Kisco and Ridgefield Park, New Jersey.
63 Artists Named for Federal Work 30 New Yorkers Are Among 19 Sculptors and 44 Painters Assigned Over Country Thirty New York artists, nearly all of New York City, are among the nineteen sculptors and forty-four painters designated today by the Treasury Department's Section of Painting and Sculpture to execute work for Federal buildings throughout the country. Out of thirty-two recommended competitors for commissions to execute eleven murals and twelve statues for Post Office and Justice Department Buildings in Washington, sixteen were New Yorkers. The other fourteen from New York were included among thirty-one additional entrants listed for future work. All those selected were represented in the recent competition in which 405 mural sketches were submitted by 147 painters and sixty-two models by forth-seven scultpors... |
Thomas J. Donnelly worked in oil, fresco, printmaking and, prior to 1940, focused on impressionism. He was a member
of the Art Students League of New York and later served on its board. His work was among the first
to appear in the
Whitney Museum of American Art, one of a number of national museums which exhibited his work. He was known for
landscapes, coastal scenes, murals, and portraits, and as a teacher. Donnelly lived in Valhalla, New York.