Rare and important mural study for Truax Field Airport in Madison, WI.
The large 3-piece mural depicts the Legends of the Oneida Native Americans - and The Haudenosaunee Creation Story. https://www.oneidaindiannation.com/the-haudenosaunee-creation-story/
The left hand panel is titled "The Great Flood" by McCloy. It depicts an Indian legend - which compares to the Biblical legend of Noah and the flood, saving of the animals, and battle between Good and Evil.
The center panel titled "Creation of the Earth" by McCloy, symbolizes the creation of the world with a Native American princess floating above the world with the support of various birds and water fowl.
The right hand panel which McCloy titled "Formation of Rocky Hills" illustrating a native legend that correlates with the Biblical story of mortal combat between Cain and Abel - a fight to the death between good and evil.
The actual mural was painted on stretched canvas for Truax Field Service Club in 1943, and is believed to have hung above the balcony fireplace in the new Service Club. It was painted as part of a UW program to bring art to servicemen and women. McCloy himself was a serviceman in WWII.
The actual mural's center panel is 8' x 10.8'. The two side canvases are 8' x 9.5'.
It is not known why, but in the late 1950s the mural was removed and given to East High School in Madison where it hung in the school auditorium until a remodeling project in the late 1980s when an administrator ordered its removal. The actual mural was saved by an astute teacher as it was carried to the dumpsters.
In 2016, the Oneida Nation in Oneida, New York acquired the murals. The mural has been professionally conserved and hangs proudly in the Ray Elm Children & Elders Center in Oneida, NY.