Photo CreditCarol M. Highsmith Photography
Custom Examination
Artist
George Harding
Year1938
Classification
painting
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions76" x 43"
Credits
Commissioned through the Section of Fine Arts, 1934 - 1943
Fine Arts Collection
U.S. General Services Administration
Fine Arts Collection
U.S. General Services Administration
- 31 separate mural panels in the vestibule, elevator lobby, and first and second floor of the rotunda area. Some are primarily decorative and others illustrate various seafaring and communications activities. The building was originally called the U.S. Customs House and Appraiser's Stores, Philadelphia. The murals were executed in tempera and oil on vehisote. The general subject matter is navigation with relation to the commerce and customs of the Port of Philadelphia. Mr. Harding uses subject matter as a starting point from which to develop his deep concern with the abstract problems of mural painting. He conceives of his composition primarily in terms of balance and mass of color, linear design, variety of forms and movement, direction and counter-direction.
Muralist George Harding and architects Ritter and Shay collaborated to create the art and architecture which makes the Custom House in Philadelphia so unique. When entering the Custom House, one sees the semicircular bas-relief panels showing American industry, commerce, and trade which are set beneath the arched door openings of the main entrance. Once inside the Custom House, the rotunda welcomes the visitor with 31 panels of murals. Architect Howell Shay conceived of the murals in his design before the time of the artist George Harding¿s involvement. From the onset, Shay determined the number and dimensions of the paintings and accommodated them with molded architectural frames throughout the Rotunda and Lobby.
After completing the designs for the location of the paintings, Shay chose George Harding as the artist for the project. Harding and architect Howell Lewis Shay envisioned a mural program illustrating marine commerce and Philadelphia trade, consistent with the building¿s nautical theme and symbolism. The building¿s function as a center for commerce is represented in the images of ships and planes. The location of the Custom House next to a freshwater port is represented in the nautical images of boats, conch shells, seahorses, and reclining Neptunes. In the elevator lobby, Harding has chosen as his subject the idea of communication. These carved panels symbolize communication by telegraph, telephone, switchboards, microphones, radio tubes, and submarine cable aerials.
Harding¿s murals, funded by the Treasury Department Section of Fine Arts, generally complement the architectural interior and underline his broad view of the building¿s structure. The panels¿ palette, form, and scale respond to the architectural surroundings. For two of the murals, Harding experimented with dimension and materials. He made use of three-dimensional relief, applying molded wood and plaster detail to the surface. He introduced new materials such as plaster relief and wood. He alternated with field colors¿ support to include plaster instead of canvas. There are 31 separate mural panels which were commissioned under the Section of Fine Arts Program, 1935-1937. The panels are located in the vestibule, elevator lobby, and the first and second floor of the rotunda area. Some are primarily decorative, and others illustrate various seafaring and communications activities. The murals were executed in tempera and oil on canvas and attached to a composition board, called veosote, which was secured to the walls and ceilings with toggle bolts. Harding¿s compositions resulted from extensive studies. Harding produced numerous drawings and color sketches of individual paintings, as well as the entire design plan before beginning to paint. Working from the drawings, he laid out the composition in graphite on the primed canvas. He then painted on tempera and oil on the primed canvas in a variety of techniques that responded to the requirements of the composition. For the more abstract paintings, such as those located on the lobby and elevator lobby ceilings, he painted in a combination of thin media-rich glazes, thicker mottled paints, and opaque fields of uniform color on a combination of canvas, plaster, and wood surfaces. The general subject matter of the murals is navigation with relation to the commerce and customs of the Port of Philadelphia. Harding uses subject matter as a starting point from which to develop his deep concern with the abstract problems of mural painting. He conceives of his composition primarily in terms of balance and mass of color, linear design, variety of forms and movement, direction and counter-direction.
