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This mural series is considered Allen Tupper True’s masterpiece. To celebrate telephone technology and the men and women who operated them, the Mountain States Telephone and Telegraph Company headquarters in Denver commissioned True to complete murals on the history of telecommunication. It establishes smoke signals—which were used by native peoples as a means of communication—as the earliest form of telecommunication, and progresses in time through a number of scenes giving importance to various inventions moving forward to the telegraph and telephone. Symbolically charged, the scale and composition of the figures in these murals is reminiscent of the work of noted muralists who preceded him, including José Clemente Orozco, Diego Rivera, with coloring that reflects prolific Golden Age illustration artists like Howard Pyle. His color palette serves to impress a mood that is integral to conveying the grandeur of the scene.
For a complete look at the many murals in this building, please visit: http://www.telcomhistory.org/vm/MMurals.shtml.
