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Charles Ward (1900–1962), “Rural Delivery,” installed in 1937, Fine Arts Collection, Public Buildings Service, General Services Administration. Post offices were a primary beneficiary of the New Deal initiatives that provided artwork to federal building as they were the most accessible federal structures in most areas.

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Charles Ward (1900–1962), “Apple Tree,” oil on canvas, circa 1938, 28 by 32 inches, Ward family collection. The world outside Ward’s door was a ready subject for his brush. This painting shows an apple tree on a hill overlooking Carversville, Penn., where the artist lived for three decades.

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CHARLES WARD MURALS, WORKS OPEN OCT. 11 IN TRENTON, N.J. w/2 cuts

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TRENTON, N.J. — The Historical Society for the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey will present its first public art exhibit, “Art For Everyone: Murals and Paintings by Charles W. Ward,” a celebration of Charles Ward’s three New Deal murals and a retrospective display of works from the five-decade career of Charles Ward (1900–1962), at the United States Courthouse here. The exhibition opens on Thursday, October 11, with a reception from 6 to 8 pm and runs through November 30.

“In 1935, Charles Ward made history when he painted the mural ‘Progress of Industry,’ in Trenton for the first national arts program under the New Deal,” says Douglas Arpert, Esq, president of the Historical Society.

“Research indicates that the mural is probably the first for the WPA-era program. In 1937 he completed two more, ‘Rural Delivery’ and ‘The Second Battle of Trenton,’ for what was then the Post Office and now the Federal Courthouse,” says bankruptcy judge Kathryn Ferguson, who has her chambers in the Trenton Courthouse.

In addition to the three murals, nearly 40 Ward paintings, drawings, archival photos and documents will be on display that document the history of the creation of the Trenton murals, as well as other New Deal murals that Ward created around the country. There are sketchbooks that reveal his initial ideas for murals, photographs that show the murals as works in progress, and Ward’s letters that describe what he painted and why.

“For a curator, the letters are the Rosetta Stone of what the artist was thinking,” says David Leopold, curator of the exhibition. “It is rare to find a contemporaneous account from an artist on what inspired the works and why he chosen to paint in this manner.

“Although these murals are commonly thought of as WPA works, like many across the country they were actually painted for the Fine Arts Section of the Treasury Department. Ward was writing to his Treasury Department contacts — who were essentially the landlords of federal buildings at that time — explaining what he was doing, and providing photographs of how they were progressing,” he said.

The exhibition also features examples of Ward’s other studio work, including still lifes, portraits and landscapes.

“Ward’s easy versatility in oils, watercolor, drawing and printmaking have drawn comparisons to Goya, Rivera, Daumier and Reginald Marsh,” says Leopold, “but each work bears his personal stamp of integrity. His work is in a number of public collections including the Smithsonian Museum of American Art, the James A. Michener Art Museum, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the New Jersey State Museum. For anyone who loves great painting, this is a great opportunity to see some terrific works.”

The Clarkson S. Fisher Federal Building and US Courthouse is at 402 East Street. For additional information, www.history.njd.uscourts.gov or 973-645-6485.