Jun 072012
Telegraph Hill
Coit Tower
WPA Murals
Department Store by Frede VidarThis mural depicts the interior of a typical 1930’s department store with soda fountain and wine shop. Some items of interest are the fact that the waitress wears a cap with a Star of Dave, (which is surprising as Frede Vidar frequently expressed pro-Nazi sympathies and even scratched a swastika on a windowpane when he worked on the project) and the fact that one of the clerks is holding a box with the SS logo on it. Notice the Bing Crosby music in the background as well as Roman Scandals by Irving Berlin. And yes, all of the bottles of wine are of local California vintages.
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Frede Vidar (1911-1967) was born in Denmark and moved with his parents to San Francisco while in High School. He graduated from the High School of Commerce and later attended the School of Fine Arts. He studied with Matisse in Paris in the 1930s. From 1950 until his death in 1967 he was Professor of Art at the University of Michigan.
This definitely is a great series!
Such a slice of life with the good and the bad! Makes me reminisce about the old department stores in Providence. I loved it when I was old enough to go with a friend…we would eat at the Shepards tea room or at counter like the one portrayed…
Such strange symbolism to have used!
I don’t know…this one excites me not at all. So, was he an anti-Semite or just a little nuts?
I am enjoying this series too. I wonder what he was trying to say with the juxtaposing of the two images? The wine is front and center!
I like the subject matter of this mural. The soda shop/cafe; the women and children shopping. A slice of life that really hasn’t changed much.
Interesting subtleties you picked up. I noticed soup is 5 cents and chili is 15 cents on the menu. 😉