Rosenwald Project
The Rosenwald School Series originated with Murphy’s interest in rural architecture and the southern landscape. A chance encounter with the first Rosenwald School she encountered led Murphy on a broader study into the social context and history of the Rosenwald Schools of the south, a massive school-building initiative in the early 20th century to address the chronic underfunding of public education for African American children living in the rural south. Founded by Tuskegee Institute principal Booker T. Washington and Sears, Roebuck & Co. CEO Julius Rosenwald, the Rosenwald School Building Project was an important collaboration resulting in over 5,000 architectural structures being built. The choice to invest in school buildings would not only provide places for learning and community advancement but would serve as a catalyst for social change in the struggle for educational justice.
This series of paintings examines rural schoolhouse design. Murphy highlights the most innovative features of the buildings; classrooms with exceptionally large double-hung windows, arranged in batteries to maximize natural lighting and air circulation.
She composes elements such as pitched roofs, deep overhangs, and porches that are important design features and characteristics of Rosenwald Schools. Murphy illustrates these elements in up-close views and simplified color fields that help the viewer focus on the geometry, repetition, and pattern which make the schools identifiable still today in the southern landscape. These paintings are intended to recognize the importance of this historic project and the on-going need for social justice in our communities.
In 2023, sales from prints and original paintings in the Rosenwald Schoolhouse Series will be donated to two North Carolina Rosenwald School organizations, The Historic Russell School in Durham county and The Hamilton School in Martin county. This donation will help to preserve a landmark in American History and the school's legacy as a place of learning. Learn more about each of them here.
