Renovation project reveals hidden treasure

This long-hidden mural on the north wall of 409 Jesse Hall was discovered by Campus Facilities workers during a renovation project. Click image for a larger view.

A long-hidden mural was discovered August 20 by Campus Facilities – Planning, Design & Construction workers renovating the offices of KBIA-FM in 409 Jesse Hall.

Construction Services plasterer Richard Brown and senior painter Mark Perrigo discovered the mural while removing pegboard panels from the north wall of the room. KBIA has occupied the space for more than 30 years and is updating the offices by removing old room dividers and installing cubicles and updated fixtures.

CS supervisor B.J. Kempf said the painting has held up better than the surrounding plaster on which it was painted. "The wall around the painting has deteriorated, but the painting itself hasn't," said Kempf. The plaster was scheduled to be repaired in conjunction with the renovation project.

Painted in the American Regionalism style, the mural depicts a male model posing for art students. The painting resembles work by Missouri artists Thomas Hart Benton and Frederick Shane, but it appears that James Hatfield created the mural in 1941. Hatfield's name and the date are printed in the mural's bottom-right corner, but it's not confirmed that he is the artist. The 1935 Savitar lists Hatfield as treasurer of the College of Fine Arts, which was housed in Jesse Hall's fourth floor until the early 1960s.