MINEOLA, TEXAS.- Pablo Gaete wrote that en route with a $49,000 grant from the Meredith Foundation, a Mineola group hopes to restore the mural-sized painting "New and Old Methods of Transportation," created during the Depression by Bernard Zakheim. The days when chugging locomotives and horse-driven carriages abounded throughout the rural American landscape may be long gone, but they remain preserved in the hearts and memories of some. And with the revival of a historical painting, a group of Mineola resident’s hopes to show future generations what life was like in the evolving Northeast Texas of the 1930s.During the Great Depression, jobs were scarce and rural inhabitants were struggling to come to terms with the explosion of new industries and new forms of transportation. Mineola residents, who at the time were mostly farmers, were trying to catch up with their country, which was rapidly changing from being an agricultural nation to becoming one of the most modern in the world.
The city boasted a painting that told the tale of progress in America. It was spawned by an artist whose rich artistic background, like that of Northeast Texas itself, has become a proud tradition. In the 1970s, that painting was tragically lost, but soon it may be reborn. The mural-sized painting, "New and Old Methods of Transportation" by Bernard Zakheim, was commissioned by the government as part of a job program inspired by Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal. The artist sought to depict Mineola of the era in his creation; the image featured two horses drawing a carriage and balking at the sight of the shimmering Milwaukee 152 train barreling through town. Two postal workers passed by with letter bags, while a modern airplane flew above.
The painting, also commissioned to honor the U.S. Postal Service, occupied a 13-by-9-foot space on the wall of the Mineola post office until the late 1970s or early 1980s, when it was relocated for an unknown reason to a storage basement. The elements got the better of the painting and it became damaged beyond recognition, not to be missed for another couple of decades. "It was a shame it had to come down," Mineola Economic and Community Director Mercy Rushing said Friday. "I wish there was a way we could have saved it.”About three or four years ago, Sharon Chamblee and other Mineola residents embarked on an endeavor to track down a photograph or likeness of the painting that could be used to re-create the work in its original spot. The post office would then become the Mineola Historical Museum.
Mrs. Chamblee’s vision is closer than ever to becoming reality. She was appointed chairwoman of Mineola’s Museum Advisory Board last year and as of Friday, had raised $49,000 to fund the project through a grant from the Meredith Foundation, a local group dedicated to culturally enriching Mineola. With help from Ms. Rushing and others, Mrs. Chamblee has also located none other than the artist’s son to re-create the painting. Nathan Zakheim, 60, lives in Marina Del Rey, Calif., with several of his children. He started painting at 8 years old alongside his father, and his entire family - including his children, five grandchildren, two sisters and a niece - are all artists. He hopes to involve them all in the creation of the new mural, documenting the experience through a film to be donated to the museum.
Some obstacles have daunted his efforts, however. The only likeness Nathan Zakheim has acquired of the original painting is a blurry photograph that does not render color accurately, so he has gone to great lengths to estimate what colors could have prevailed in the work, based on the ones his father preferred. He said he wishes someone would come forward with a better photograph of the artwork - if it exists. Another problem is which medium to use. The general consensus is the painting was done with oil, but Zakheim discovered it could have been painted using egg tempera. Whether to make the re-creation a mural fixed to the wall or to produce a mural-sized painting like its predecessor is also a dilemma he has pondered. And up until Friday, lack of money was the main hindrance to the project.
With funding now available, Zakheim said he is excited to proceed, but will need plenty of luck. He accepted the project for about half what he normally charges for a work of this stature, Mrs. Chamblee said. In a telephone interview, Zakheim expressed his fascination with the topic of his father’s painting and its ongoing implications in society.
"My father was very much into the benefits of modernity," he said, a contrast to today’s world, in which many would like to return to the days of the past.
But most Americans of the 1930s welcomed everything modern, he said, and therefore had to bid adieu to the older ways. The horses in the painting represent the old world, while the shiny steel train showed the new, he said. "There were a lot of utopian beliefs" in those days, Zakheim said, adding most people were not suspicious of new inventions like many are today. But he said progress can sometimes become excessive and he hopes the future will not behold "a world run by machines." Therein lies the conflict between horse and train, he said. As for the future of the painting, it will hopefully participate in Mineola’s days to come. Some have had faith since beginning of the project that it will.
"It was as if it was meant to be," Mrs. Chamblee said after learning her group had received funding for the plan. Now, she said she looks forward to the time six months to a year from now, when the museum and painting might be ready for unveiling. "I’m waiting for the big party," she said.
