Nellie Geraldine Best

Nellie Geraldine Best (May 22, 1905 – June 2, 1990) was an American artist, she is known for her sculptures, paintings, and murals. She was active in Oregon, California, and Minneapolis, from the 1930s until the 1950s.

Nellie Geraldine Best
Born(1905-05-22)May 22, 1905
Sterling, Washington, U.S.
DiedJune 2, 1990(1990-06-02) (aged 85)
Eugene, Oregon, U.S.
Other namesNellie G. Best, Nell Best

Biography

Nellie Geraldine Best was born in Sterling, Washington on May 22, 1905.[1] Best graduated from the University of Oregon with a B.A. degree (1929) and a M.F.A. degree (1930).[2]

Best won an honorable mention in a national competition to paint murals; the award was for her mural in the Social Security Administration building in Washington, D.C.[3]

In 1940, Best painted Early Voyageurs at Portage as part of a Works Progress Administration's Federal Art Project for the post office in White Bear Lake, Minnesota.[4] The work Early Voyageurs at Portage was removed in the 1970s from the post office and is now lost.[5] In 1942, Best painted two 16-foot long, oil on canvas murals for the post office in Ontario, California; entitled, The Dream which depicted George Chaffey, the founder of the city, with surveyors and the second canvas entitled, The Reality which showed a view of the completed city's Euclid Avenue.[6][7][5]

In the 1960s she taught art classes in Oregon.[5] Best died on June 22, 1990, in Eugene, Oregon.[2][5]

References
  1. Hughes, Edan Milton (1986). Artists in California, 1786-1940. Hughes Publishing Company. ISBN 9780961611217.
  2. "Nellie G. Best 1905–1990". Historic Knight Library: Art and Architecture, University of Oregon Libraries. December 12, 2016.
  3. "Murals Will Adorn Walls of Post Office". The San Bernardino County Sun. 1942-10-29. p. 15. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
  4. Park, Marlene; Markowitz, Gerald E. (1984). Democratic Vistas: Post Offices and Public Art in the New Deal. Philadelphia , PA: Temple University Press.
  5. Blackstock, Joe (December 12, 2016). "How the murals at the Ontario Post Office got there". Daily Bulletin. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
  6. "Map: Ontario Post Office". NewDealArtRegistry.org. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
  7. "Post Office To Be Adorn By Second Mural". The San Bernardino County Sun. 1942-12-17. p. 15. Retrieved 2021-11-15.


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