With its proximity to the cultural hub of New York City and its quieter suburban and rural landscapes, Connecticut was fertile ground for artists and writers in the period of Modernist movements between 1913 and 1979. Many of these cultural figures are well known through biographical and critical studies. Creative Places seeks to show how place played a significant role in creative work, and how in turn the artists and writers influenced communities in Connecticut.
Thomas Sergeant LaFarge
Painting/Drawing
1904 – 1942
LaFarge’s murals in the lobby of the New London post office are considered among the best WPA artwork in the state. His preliminary studies can be found in the collections of the Lyman Allyn Art Museum.
- Biography/Description of Work
The lobby of the New London Post Office on Masonic Street boasts remarkable murals painted in the 1930s. These murals by New England artist Thomas La Farge (1904-1942) feature scenes of a crew at work on a whaling ship. Titles of the maritime-themed murals include Early Morning, Cutting-In and Aloft. As the son and grandson of two artists, Bancel and John La Farge, respectively, and a sailor himself, Thomas LaFarge was well-suited to depict the demanding routines of whaling life. The Coast Guard later called him ‘an experienced seaman, well qualified to command.’ Several years after completing the murals, he traveled, as many New London whalers of yore would have done, to Arctic waters. The cutter he commanded foundered in stormy weather off the eastern Canadian coast. The Coast Guard lists it in a catalogue of doomed ships: Natsek; 17 December 1942; Lost (Unknown.) Grandfather John LaFarge was a World- renowned artist in stained glass. (Zoe)
- Sources view
- Zoe, Vivian. Milton Bellin and the Federal Arts Project. Slater Museum Muse, Fall 2012.
America at Work: New Deal Murals in New London and Beyond. Connecticut Traveler Magazine, Spring 2012. [ http://cttraveler.com/america-work-new-deal-murals-in-new-london-and-beyond-2678 ] - Associated Resource(s)