Anatol Shulkin, American, born Russia, 1899 - 1961, A series of 23 successful and proposed designs for U.S. Post Office murals as a result of a 1938 Treasury Department competition. The original letter awarding Shulkin the commission also included.
Shulkin along with Ben Shahn, Joe Lasker and other artists were chosen. Shulkin's ultimate successful proposal was "The Invention of the Paper Bag in Canajoharie (New York),” the mural was installed in the post office lobby there in 1942. Included in this lot of 23 sketches is an variant of the ultimate successful design as well as designs based on the 1779 portage route of General James Clinton's army. Shulkin also sketched the production stages including slaves picking cotton, a sidewheeler and a recaptured slave, timber felling etc. Most but not all examples photographed, all graphite or colored pencil, these do not appear to be signed. Dimensions: none framed, most a horizontal format about 6" and 7" x 15"
Property descended directly through the family and in storage since the artist's death in 1961.
(AHEC6578/24)(TC)
Artist's Biography: Anatol Shulkin, Russian-American, 1899-1961

Shulkin immigrated to the United States from Russian at twelve and studied with George Bellows and Leon Kroll at the Art Students League and the National Academy of Design in the 1920's.
He had early solo exhibitions at the Art Centre Gallery, later at the Midtown Galleries in New York, and was a founding member of An American Group, Inc., a leftist leaning organization of artists.
In 1932, the New York Times reviewed a solo exhibition of Shulkin’s work, commenting “he deserves front rank honors…put this exhibition, without fail, on your list of current ‘musts’. “
Later, Shulkin was a successful muralist with awards from the U.S. Treasury in 1935, 1937, 1938 and 1940, producing murals for the Works Progress Administration as well as several important private commissions.
He also exhibited at the Corcoran Biennial, The National Academy of Art, The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Carnegie Institute, and the Art Institute of Chicago.
As a native Russian-speaker, Shulkin had access to the Soviet Delegation at the 1944 Dumbarton Oaks Conference, the result of which is a series of historic life portraits in this sale.
Anatol Shuklin's work is in the permanent collections of the Whitney and Metropolitan Museum of Art.

vary, but tears, water damage, adhesive tape residue etc should be expected