Biography

William E.L. Bunn attended the University of Iowa, receiving a B.A. and an M.A. He followed this with a post-doctoral fellowship, which allowed him to continue studying with Grant Wood, who had joined the Iowa faculty while Bunn was a student there. In addition to Bunn's mural commissions in the years 1938-1942, he exhibited his paintings at the National Academy of Design, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and elsewhere. For 24 years, beginning in 1943, Bunn was employed as an industrial designer. He moved to California after his retirement in 1967, where he continued to paint.

Critical Analysis

As is evident from materials collected at the Smithsonian Institute, Bunn had a life-long fascination with Mississippi steamboats. These boats figured prominently in his paintings of American scenes. He was a traditional painter but a meticulous worker.

Murals

• Dubuque, Iowa - Post Office: Early Mississippi Packet 'Dubuque III'
• Hamburg, Iowa - Post Office: Peony Festival at Hamburg
• Hickman, Kentucky - Post Office: Mississippi Packets
• Minden, Nebraska - Post Office: 1848, Fort Kearny, Protectorate on the Overland Trail, 1871

References

1. Bunn, William E. L., 1910-2009 (Social Networks and Archival Content).
2. William Bunn working on a mural for the Minden Post Office, Minden, NE, between 1937 and 1939 (Smithsonian American Art Museum).
3. William E. L. Bunn papers, 1863-2009 (Archives of American Art).
4. William E.L. Bunn (Mutual Art).
5. William E.L. Bunn painting a mural for a post office in Minden, Neb., not after 1939 (Smithsonian American Art Museum).