“My purpose is to preserve a little chunk of 1978 for the folks down the road,” said Missouri Artist Gary R. Lucy. “The mural makes one simple statement: This is what we in Missouri had in the spring of 1978.”
Measuring 7 feet by 22 feet, the Missouri Wildlife mural, which hangs in the lobby of West Plains Bank and Trust Company Main Bank, is an impressive focal point. From the leaf-covered forest floor to mist-shrouded background, the mural is a historical record of the flora and fauna of Southwest Missouri. The mural represents some 22 species of wildlife indigenous to Missouri, as well as many varieties of plant life and wildflowers.
An ardent conservationist, Lucy felt strongly about leaving behind a permanent record of the natural world as people knew it in 1978. “My purpose is to preserve a little chunk of 1978 for the folks down the road,” said Missouri Artist Gary R. Lucy. “The mural makes one simple statement: This is what we in Missouri had in the spring of 1978.”
The mural is painted on a canvas stretched on a complicated wooden stretcher system, which is attached to the wall. Lucy designed and built the stretcher system himself. A detailed record has been made of how the painting was installed and how it should be removed from the building, when the time comes. The instructions are so detailed they even include a description of the materials that went into the mural – down to the chemical analysis of the paints – in the event that restoration work should one day be attempted. Three copies of the record were created. One is attached to the back of mural, one is in the Bank’s vault and one remains in the artist’s files.
A complete remodel of the Main Bank location, which spanned 2014 and 2015, included the moving and re-hanging of the mural. On Aug. 18, 2014, bank employees and employees of RKL Construction (West Plains, Mo.), carefully detached the mural from its original hanging wall and moved it to its current location. Mr. Lucy was present for the process and reported the mural was in excellent condition 36 years after it was originally installed at Main Bank.
An ardent conservationist, Lucy felt strongly about leaving behind a permanent record of the natural world as people knew it in 1978. “My purpose is to preserve a little chunk of 1978 for the folks down the road,” said Missouri Artist Gary R. Lucy. “The mural makes one simple statement: This is what we in Missouri had in the spring of 1978.”
The mural is painted on a canvas stretched on a complicated wooden stretcher system, which is attached to the wall. Lucy designed and built the stretcher system himself. A detailed record has been made of how the painting was installed and how it should be removed from the building, when the time comes. The instructions are so detailed they even include a description of the materials that went into the mural – down to the chemical analysis of the paints – in the event that restoration work should one day be attempted. Three copies of the record were created. One is attached to the back of mural, one is in the Bank’s vault and one remains in the artist’s files.
A complete remodel of the Main Bank location, which spanned 2014 and 2015, included the moving and re-hanging of the mural. On Aug. 18, 2014, bank employees and employees of RKL Construction (West Plains, Mo.), carefully detached the mural from its original hanging wall and moved it to its current location. Mr. Lucy was present for the process and reported the mural was in excellent condition 36 years after it was originally installed at Main Bank.