Art Deco-Style Mural Removed

Before

After

The present location of the mural is unknown. Strange Maine, indeed.

Almost in the dead of night, literally during the media quiet of the weekend, agents of Maine's Governor Paul LePage, one of the Tea Party's golden boys, removed an art deco-style mural from the Maine Department of Labor office sometime on March 25-27, 2011.

Governor LePage adds a dark page to the art history of Maine.

The 36-foot mural of Maine labor history was quietly removed from the Maine Department of Labor office in Augusta over the weekend, Department of Labor spokesperson Adam Fisher told The New England Journal of Aesthetic Research. Governor Paul LePage called for the mural’s removal last week because he found it offensively pro-labor, and said he received a handful of anonymous complaints from business owners. Asked who ordered it removed, who removed it, where is it now, and what are the plans for it, Fisher replied, “I’ll direct your other questions to the Governor’s office for response.” 

By sad coincidence, Friday was the 100th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City. The March 25, 1911 fire was the deadliest industrial disaster in the history of the city of New York and resulted in the fourth highest loss of life from an industrial accident in U.S. history. The fire caused the deaths of 146 garment workers, who either died from the fire or jumped to their deaths.

Outrageous. Incredible.