The History Behind Cleminson Hall's Murals

Cleminson Hall in is an impressive space.    The heart of the highschool, with floor-to-ceiling windows that face South's sweeping front lawn, Cleminson Hall, much like the school's cafeteria, are rooms that could easily be transported into a european castle.

Once the school's library, Cleminson Hall now serves as a room for more formal school functions. 

Students and alumni of South are familiar with the giant murals in Cleminson Hall, which were painted under a division of Franklin Roosevelt's Works Progress Administration, the Federal Arts Project. 

Artists who vyed for these paid commissions had to submit sketches to the FAP.  A commission in Grosse Pointe's presitigious new high school was highly sought after by artists, some of whom even offered to paint for free. 

The commission went to Edgar Yaeger, a Detroit-born artist, who studied in the United States and Europe. 

John Joseph Jr, a Grosse Pointe Shores resident who has spent his life promoting and preserving Yaeger's work currently owns the original sketches.  "The FAP usually kept the sketches, but Yaeger hid his in the attic of his home." Joseph already has plans to donate the sketches to the Kresge Art Museum.  

The murals represent themes of the history of learning. "He did extensive research so that he could know the history of learning."  This year, the Christmas Tree in Cleminson Hall was decorated with the themes and images gleaned from the murals, and is part of the holiday tour.

Despite wanting the commission at South, Yaeger was never particually fond of the works he produced for the FAP.  "The government dicated the style of the artwork.  At the time of this South commission, Yaeger had just returned from Paris and wanted where they were moving into brighter colors, but he had to stick to the sketches," noted Joseph, "The WPA government was very conservative and they decided if the artwork was acceptable or not." 

Joseph notes on the webiste preserving Yaeger's legacy, that he "was somewhat dismissive of his WPA-era projects; his reluctance to embrace social realism and his resistance to the influence of program administrators and site managers led him to leave many of these works unsigned."

Choosing not to sign his work was Yaeger's way of asserting himself against the government-mandated style.

"Did he need the money? Yes, but the government couldn't make him sign his work" remarked Joseph "It was his way of 'sticking it' to the government."

Over time the murals had been damaged due to cleaning that stripped the paint.  In the late 1980s high school officials contacted Yaeger, through Joseph, and asked him if he would personally touch them up himself. 

"He was so thrilled that he was asked to fix the murals. He was truly overjoyed that people were still enjoying his art, especially the students at South." 

He agreed to fix them. The process was slow--he didn't drive and relied on one of Joseph's close friends to drive him to and from South, and to help him get up onto the scaffolding.

In 1990 the murals in Cleminson Hall were re-dedicated. Joseph introduced Yaeger at the rededication. "Yaeger was a quiet man, very modest, and he was honored to receive so much attention," Joseph said of the rededication.

Yaeger was so pleased that people truly still cared about and enjoyed his work, that he agreed to sign the murals in 1990. 

Joseph is almost single-handedly preserved the legacy of Yaeger. After Yaeger's death in 1997, Joseph's nephew suggested that he create a website that would honor Yaeger's life and works. "In 2000 we started the website project." After a few misteps and hiccups, the website was launched in 2001. 

"My nephew suggested I start the website because I knew so much about him." said Joseph, who had become acquainted with Yaeger through his mother who took classes from him. "Because Yaeger never drove, I would drive him and my mother to the War Memorial for classes." This began in the early 1970's and Joseph's relationship with Yaeger progressed as he began to sell his works to clients.

Initially the website was meant to preserve the life and legacy of Yaeger, but now you may also peruse a selection of Yaeger's paintings, sketches, and tiled mosaics that are currently for sale. 

The remainder of Yaeger's collection was sold to the Cincinatti Art Gallery in Ohio in the late 1990s.