For any Penn Stater who’s never taken a walk through Old Main, the Land-Grant Frescoes that adorn the walls of the Old Main lobby are one of Penn State’s greatest hidden gems.

Originally painted in 1940, the frescoes are a visual representation of Penn State’s land-grant mission — specifically, its mission to “promote the liberal and practical education…in the several pursuits and professions of life” for the people of Pennsylvania, as was written into the Morrill Land-Grant Act of 1862 and signed by Abraham Lincoln.

Other images depicted in the frescoes represent other facets of Penn State and University life, including athletics, agriculture, science and engineering, and music and the arts.

Each of images depicted tie back to Penn State’s history and its mission to educate Pennsylvanians across disciplines for the collective benefit of the Commonwealth.

The frescoes were painted by American artist Henry Varnum Poor, who also created murals that adorn the Department of Justice and Department of Interior buildings in Washington, D.C. A master of the fresco technique, in which paint is applied directly to wet plaster, Poor originally only painted the central fresco above the lobby stairwell. However, students voted in 1941 to fund the continuation of the mural, and Poor returned to campus to paint the left and right wings of the Old Main lobby — covering a total of more than 1,300 square feet by the project’s completion in 1949.

Although the frescoes gradually deteriorated over the following decades due to time and environmental exposure, the University embarked in 2012 on an ambitious restoration project that combined modern science with traditional fresco painting techniques. Completed in 2014, the project restored the frescoes to their original quality and color, preserving these beautiful works of art and history for future generations of Penn Staters to admire.