Sleep by Dunbar Beck

"Sleep" Mural by Dunbar Beck.
For the 1939-40 World's Fair New York.
I don't know what building this was on, but I really like the feel of this one. The figure of sleep is especially nice due to, I think, all of the pleasing geometric shapes within it. It's almost a shame that it is sideways as it makes you really want see it vertically. The overall egg-shaped design adds to a general feeling of peace and calm.
Although this photo is in black and white you can still see how Beck made use of color in the shaded tones of this piece. He was an excellent colorist--and here you can see how he adapted his coloring skills to a format in which it looks like he could do very little if any blending. (or chose to do little or no blending) The overall areas of color, and the color/shadow areas are so simple and clean,and add so much to the piece.
Also note that in "Sleep" and "Recreation" that Beck's style of execution is far different than his work for "Genius of Business Administration". "Sleep" and "Recreation" are in a modeled in a flatter simpler more "cartoonish" sort of style" for lack of a better word. Perhaps he chose this look because it would carry better visually from a great height or distance? No matter why he did it was a nice clean straight-forward look. In contrast,the elegant yet powerful figure that is central to "Genius of Business Administration" is executed in a far more realistic manner.
Photo: NYPL