Emil Schnellock began to work on this panel in September 1940 and completed it the following year. Students participated in its creation in a variety of ways, posing for early photographic studies in classrooms and laboratories, sitting as models for specific figures, and collaborating on its production. Although some of the figures in the murals are identifiable and represent specific individuals, others are composites created to represent campus-wide activities and academic departments.
Camera Work: Taylor Coleman; Editing and Narration: Eliza Vegas.
To the far left are a trio of figures representing the Music Department. Assistant Professor of Music Ronald Faulkner, the director of the band, stands behind Margaret Ann Jones ’41 holding the violin and Constance Pusey ’43 sitting with the cello.
At the microphone is Virginia Morgan ’44. Dean Edward Alvey identified Morgan as a student who participated in the college’s radio broadcasting courses, but she was also a class chairman in the Art Club.[4] In the 1940s, Mary Washington students presented hour-long radio programs on station WMWC, including daily dramas, campus newscasts, and concert performances.[5] Depictions of the station in the Battlefield often featured students performing or producing broadcasts.
In 1941, the student newspaper The Bullet identified the student sitting before the globe as Frances Lawson ’40. The paper noted that Lawson was faced away from her fellow graduates and the college buildings; as she gazed outward, the student was looking to make “her mark on the world.”[6]
While several images included in the mural were inspired by photographs, once completed, the murals may have influenced how student organizations presented themselves. This depiction of Lawson before the globe was echoed in the 1943 Battlefield’s representation of the International Relations Club. As students on campus grappled with the full impact of World War II, the yearbook observed, “Gone are the days when women feigned ignorance of world events. They are curious and interested, and they always have been—only now they admit it. It’s a man’s world, but it’s a woman’s world too![7] The International Relations Club provided a space for students to explore these interests.
Behind Lawson, two figures hold a Virginia state and American flag. Lillie Turman ’36 identified herself as the figure on the left holding the Virginia state flag.[8] In 1941, The Bullet suggested that the inclusion of these figures was intended to “signify patriotism and fidelity to the state.”[9] As a recent graduate herself, Turman played a prominent role on campus as dean of freshmen.
Camera Work: Taylor Coleman; Editing and Narration: Abby Delapenha.
In the center of the panel, with a statue of George Washington overlooking the scene, President Dr. Morgan Combs (1928-1944) and Dean Edward Alvey, Jr. present diplomas to graduates with Ball Hall in the background. The figure of Washington strikes a pose that is similar to the statue located in the Dodd auditorium foyer. The 1941 Bullet identified the graduating students as “Beverly Roberts, Lucy Dickinson, a composite, and Juanita Lassiter.”[11] Former Dean of Freshman Lillie Turman ‘36 indicated that she also modeled for this group as the fourth student in line.[12]
On the right side of the panel, a grouping of students represents different academic pursuits on campus. In the background, Farmer Hall—then Trinkle Library—represented an important source of knowledge and information.[14]
The 1941 Bullet identified the student sitting at the table as Sarah Lou Miller ’40, intended to represent literature and history. The book open at her feet was originally painted with a portrait of Robert E. Lee. In 1941, the student newspaper praised this selection “since he is the prime symbol of the apogee of Southern culture.”[15] While Lee may have been celebrated at Mary Washington in the 1940s when it was a segregated white women’s college, by 2022, Lee’s legacy as a Confederate general and enslaver was out of step with the University’s ASPIRE statement of values and his portrait was concealed by a professional conservator.
Camera Work: Taylor Coleman; Editing and Narration: Abby Delapenha.
Chemistry, biology, and the physical sciences are represented by a grouping of four students to the far right, surrounded by scientific apparatus and natural specimens. The 1943 Battlefield called the women in the science club “pathfinders.” Careers in the sciences might have been marked with a sign, “Women, keep out! Science is a man’s field,” the yearbook observed. “Well, maybe it’s that challenge which started these girls on a scientific career… Whatever it may be, the members of the Science Club are on their way to that forbidden territory!… And finding there new places for themselves and proving to mankind that woman’s place is in the battle of and for life, a more abundant life through the progress scientific discoveries bring.”[16]
Science major Margaret Duke Ochi ’44 recalled that Schnellock had a professional photographer take pictures of students working in the chemistry laboratory to aid in the development of this scene. Ochi identified herself as the student in the green sweater observing the student holding the flask. After graduation, Ochi completed graduate work in physics and engineering, and worked as a naval architect for nearly forty years. “It was very interesting work but challenging,” she recalled, “because women were somewhat of a rarity in the engineering field for most of the years of my employment.” Ochi credited Mary Washington for providing her with the background and preparation that enabled her to pursue a career in the sciences.[17]
After taking preliminary photographs, other students recall that Schnellock recruited them to sit as models for this scene. Ann Martin Scott ’42 remembered posing for the same figure in green leaning against the table. As a student, she worked as a chemistry lab assistant and grader for Dr. Alexander for two years.[18] In 1941, The Bullet identified Ann Martin as one of the students depicted in this grouping.[19]
In contrast, other students who posed like Marjorie Burgess Parce ’42 were art students. Parce was formally enrolled in Schnellock’s mural classes and also assisted him in his studio. She painted murals in the basement of then Trinkle Library, posed for this mural in George Washington Hall, and helped develop designs for the murals in Monroe Hall which were painted after she graduated. A conservator recently discovered that she is one of five students who signed the panel depicting the faculty procession and are known to have contributed to its creation.[20] Other students who posed for this scene identified by the 1941 Bullet include Ruth Conover ’42 and Beth Copps ‘43. Conover was president of the Art Club in 1941.[21]
[1] Image Credit: Karen Pearlman of K. Pearlman Photography, 2015. Teresa Boegler and Karen Pearlman, “The Murals of the University of Mary Washington: Emil Schnellock in Collaboration with Faculty and Students,” Center for Historic Preservation, University of Mary Washington, p.18.
[2] “Mural Placed in Washington Hall,” The Bullet, 30 May 1941.
[3] Margaret Ann Jones to Mary Washington Today Editor, 21 February 1990, Chadis Collection, UMW Special Collections and University Archives, Fredericksburg, VA.
[4] “Mural Placed in Washington Hall,” The Bullet, 30 May 1941; Edward Alvey, Jr., “The Murals in George Washington Hall,” Mary Washington Today (1990): 3; Art Club officers, listed in 1941 Battlefield, Mary Washington College student yearbook.
[5] Description of “Station WMWC” in 1946 Battlefield, Mary Washington College student yearbook.
[6] “Mural Placed in Washington Hall,” The Bullet, 30 May 1941.
[7] Description of International Relations Club, 1943 Battlefield, Mary Washington College student yearbook.
[8] Paulette Watson to Edward Alvey, Jr.,18 February 1990, Chadis Collection, UMW Special Collections and University Archives, Fredericksburg, VA.
[9] “Mural Placed in Washington Hall,” The Bullet, 30 May 1941.
[10] Image Credit: Karen Pearlman of K. Pearlman Photography, 2015. Teresa Boegler and Karen Pearlman, “The Murals of the University of Mary Washington: Emil Schnellock in Collaboration with Faculty and Students,” Center for Historic Preservation, University of Mary Washington, p. 19.
[11] “Mural Placed in Washington Hall,” The Bullet, 30 May 1941.
[12] Paulette Watson to Edward Alvey, Jr., 18 February 1990, Chadis Collection, UMW Special Collections and University Archives, Fredericksburg, VA.
[13]Image Credit: Karen Pearlman of K. Pearlman Photography, 2015. Teresa Boegler and Karen Pearlman, “The Murals of the University of Mary Washington: Emil Schnellock in Collaboration with Faculty and Students,” Center for Historic Preservation, University of Mary Washington, p. 20.
[14] Edward Alvey, Jr., “The Murals in George Washington Hall,” Mary Washington Today (1990): 3.
[15] “Mural Placed in Washington Hall,” The Bullet, 30 May 1941.
[16] Description of Science Club, 1943 Battlefield, MWC student yearbook.
[17] Margaret Duke Ochi to MWC Historic Preservation Director, 22 August 2001, Chadis Collection, UMW Special Collections and University Archives, Fredericksburg, VA.
[18] Ann Martin Scott to Edward Alvey, Jr., 9 February 1990, Chadis Colleciton, UMW Special Collections and University Archives, Fredericksburg, VA.
[19] “Mural Placed in Washington Hall,” The Bullet, 30 May 1941.
[20] Marjorie Burgess Parce, response to Schnellock Project Survey, Chadis Collection, UMW Special Collections and University Archives, Fredericksburg, VA.
[21] “Mural Placed in Washington Hall,” The Bullet, 30 May 1941; Art Club officers, listed in 1941 Battlefield, MWC student yearbook.
