Nil Sine Numine (Mining)

Oval at the top of painting contains the Colorado state shield with the state motto 'Nil Sine Numine' (nothing without divine approval).

The murals depict a distinctively Colorado scene. It is a picture within a picture since the outer part of the mural is made to look like a Roman proscenium or archway with statues on each side holding up the arch overhead. Included is the Colorado shield "Nil Sine Numine" and a shield showing the Rockies plus a pair of crossed mining tools - a pick-axe and a hammer. This is a reference to the historical tradition of mining in the Western United States. The inner painting shows two shirtless miners in the foreground, standing on the edge of a mountain cliff and digging in the rocks. Their pack mule stands waiting patiently nearby. Further in the distance, behind the miners, we see the view that they see - of a distant range of mountains enveloped in hazy blues and purples. It is either sunrise or sunset, as the tip of the mountains is etched in yellow and the blue sky has traces of pink clouds. There is a trace of a winding road going up the side of the distant mountains.