Louis D. Brandeis in a New York City Mural

20Apr25

In New York City, there is a high school devoted to teaching students skills related to the fashion industry. It is named, appropriately enough, the High School of Fashion Industries. It was founded in 1926 and in 1941, it was given a new building and the name Central High School of Needle Trades. (It was given its current name in 1956.) In order to publicize the new building, artist Ernest Fiene was hired to paint a mural in the school’s auditorium titled History of the Needlecraft Industry. There is some debate whether this was a WPA project. It is commonly believed so, but there is evidence that it wasn’t.

The mural consists of two panels, each 17 feet high by 65 feet wide. Together they depict the history of the history of the fashion industry in 20th century New York. It starts with a depiction of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, and follows that with depictions of union agreements, the enactment of safety laws and a vision of an utopian future filled with happy workers and, apparently, a swimming pool. According to a contemporary Time article, Fiene had to please five separate juries, with the result that sometimes he had to repaint some figures three times.

There are various images of parts of the mural on the web, although the only shots of the entire mural that I have found are so small that it is difficult to make out any details. However, the murals have generated some online discussion. But all of the posts I have found have omitted one key fact: the presence of Louis D. Brandeis in it. In 1910, Brandeis helped end a bitter strike involving the New York garment workers by helping create what was called the Protocol of Peace. It was the cornerstone of major improvements in the lives of New York garment workers, and the depiction of Brandeis, surrounded by labor leaders and factory owners, gives proper due to an historic occasion. However, I do have a couple minor quibbles about it. First of all, Brandeis is depicted wearing his judicial robes, although he didn’t join the Supreme Court until six years later. Also, due to its placement in the mural, it looks like the Protocol’s creation was in response to the Triangle fire. But the Triangle fire happened in 1911, the year after the Protocol was created. It’s an historical inaccuracy, but a minor one. If the Protocol had been accepted more widely and in a more timely manner, maybe many fewer lives would have been lost in the tragedy.

Many thanks to Henry D. Fetter for bringing this mural to my attention. I have not seen the mural myself since it is not normally accessible to the public. But Fetter attended a concert there this winter and was able to take the picture below.

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