North Platte Country Against The Mountains

"North Platte Country Against The Mountains" by John H. Fraser; large color oil painting on canvas; horizontal orientation; slightly abstracted image of agricultural landscape around Littleton, with silos, fences, barns, 22 cows, the mill on Rapp Street, church steeple, 2 trains, farms, river or lake, and mountains in the background; colors are black, and shades of brown, grey, white, yellow, orange, green & blue; signed "John Fraser 1940" in rust red, in lower left corner; horizontal rectangular section of painting missing at bottom, due to being originally installed over doorway; re-mounted during conservation (see Accession file); stained oak thin wooden frame; see accession file for several photographic images of painting, as well as exhibit labels, articles, and other information about the painting.

In 1939, the United States Treasury Department sponsored a competition to select one mural per state. Inspired by the photo-filled 1938 Golden Jubilee edition of the Littleton Independent, Pennsylvania artist John Fraser submitted a smaller scale version of the mural, and won the competition for Colorado, getting paid about $750 for his work. Installed in June 1940, the mural was removed in 1963 and forgotten, due to renovations at the U.S. Post Office located at Prince and West Alamo streets. Rediscovered by the Museum's first Director, Bob McQuarie in 1969, the painting was conserved, then installed in Council Chambers in 1985. The painting was moved to the Littleton Museum history gallery in 2020.

Owner: Littleton Museum/City of Littleton
Maintenance Authority: Littleton Museum