McKinley School

Library Mural

McKinley Historic Mural - "Education"
One of the Southland's most famed painters, Pasadena artist Frank Tolles Chamberlin devoted seven years to painting the 16x40 foot mural entitled "Education" on the McKinley library west wall. The mural was initiated by the U.S. Treasury Department, with the collaboration of the Board of Education, a committee chaired by Miss Fannie Kerns, and the class of 1934, for the Depression-era Works Progress Administration's (WPA) Arts Project. When completed in 1942, the mural received critical acclaim by Arthur Miller, the highly respected art critic of the Los Angeles Times, who described it as the finest mural in Southern California. It is the only remaining WPA mural in the Pasadena area.

Chamberlin won the commission on the recommendation of notable members of the community. After observing classes in various departments, it was decided to make the mural's composition expressive of the activities, spirit, and ideas of McKinley and let the subject matter grow from the student's individual suggestions. Every McKinley student was given the chance to write his or her preference regarding its subject matter.

The theme of the mural was to be education and it was supposed to reflect life in Southern California. The artist sketched the background for the mural in the Arroyo Seco and Eaton Canyon. Several students from McKinley were invited to pose for the artist at his home studio.

The line of verse at the bottom of the mural is from "Song of Youth," a poem by Chamberlin's friend and poet, Anna Trumbull Waller: "All heritage of the past is mine, to be moulded by my spirit into forms new and fair." In a 1942 brochure written about the mural, Chamberlin writes, "To paint a composition on the theme of youth and its activities at a time when freedom and civilization were threatened by destructive forces was both inspiring and disconcerting. But with the full consciousness of a war-torn world, the main idea of the mural seemed intensified."

In recent years, the mural has become water damaged. The McKinley PTA is working to find the means to restore this historical painting by seeking grant funding, working with conservators, and more.

Westways article on McKinley's Library mural

Biography on the Artist - Frank Tolles Chamberlin
Chamberlin was born March 10, 1873 in San Francisco. Moving to a family farm in Ascutney, Vermont at the age of seven, he grew up enjoying a typical farm life. Later moving to Hartford, he took his first drawing lessons at the Wadsworth Athenaeum at the age of 15. By 1908, Chamberlin won the Lazarus scholarship to the prestigious American Academy in Rome through a mural competition, where he went and studied under the tutelage of the famed muralist Frank Millet.

Upon completing his studies, he settled in New York, teaching at the Beaux Arts Institute of Design and Columbia University while spending summers at the MacDowell Colony in New Hampshire where he met his wife. In 1919 he settled in Pasadena with his wife Katharine and daughter Dorothy; his son Wal-ter was soon to follow. In Los Angeles Chamberlin taught at the most influential academies, including the University of Southern California and the Otis Academy. Additionally he helped found and taught at the Chouinard Art Institute (which was later merged with the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music in 1961 to become CalArts).

In 1955 the Pasadena Art Museum invited Chamberlin to exhibit a retrospective of his works. The exhibi-tion was comprehensive and varied: oils, watercolors, pastels, sculptures, drawings, and etchings. One of the main galleries was filled with much of Chamberlin's major work, including a photographic reproduc-tion of the McKinley mural.

Chamberlin continued to work and teach right up until his death on July 24, 1961. He was an Honorary Life member of the Beaux Arts Institute of Design, the Bookworkers Guild, The California Arts Club, the California Water Color Society, the Pasadena Society of Artists (charter member) and the Artists of the Southwest.

Tragically, in May 1978 several of his works were stolen from the family home while his widow, Kathe-rine, was in the hospital. The thieves took the only full catalogue of Chamberlin's work.