Royal Oak Murals
The Cultural Arts
Left panel: Andrew Maglia, Italian-American (1905-1974)
Oil on canvas
1934
The Naming of Royal Oak
Center panel: Andrew Maglia, Italian-American (1905-1974)
Oil on canvas
1934
The Royal Oak Community
Right panel: Leon and Bronislaw Makielski, American
Leon Makielski (1885-1974)
Bronislaw Makielski (1901-1986)
Oil on canvas
1937
Created during the Great Depression of the 1930s, the Royal Oak Murals were funded through New Deal work-relief programs designed to employ thousands of Americans while investing in public infrastructure and the creative arts. Alongside roads, bridges, and public buildings, these programs supported artists, musicians, and writers—resulting in ambitious projects like the Royal Oak murals, the largest New Deal–era art initiative in Michigan.
This collection consists of three oil-on-canvas murals, each measuring approximately 11 feet wide by 23 feet high. Together, they offer an artistic vision of Royal Oak’s history and its hopes for the future. The murals were created by different artists, reflected in their distinct styles. Andrew Maglia painted the first two panels before funding ended in 1934. When support resumed, brothers Leon and Bronislaw Makielski were commissioned to complete the third mural in 1937.
Andrew Maglia was primarily known as a stained-glass master; the Royal Oak Murals were his only project for the government-funded programs. A Royal Oak Tribune article from 1979 quoted his widow, Concetta, as saying that he was paid $25 to $30 a week during the five months he worked in Royal Oak. Known for his crusades to preserve art, Maglia likely would have been in the thick of the campaign to restore and reinstall Royal Oak’s Murals. This talented artist emigrated to the United States in the 1920s, first living in New York and Lawrence, Mass., before coming to Detroit in 1928.
Leon Makielski, the third of the 11 surviving children in his family, was born in Morris Run, Pa., and grew up in South Bend, Ind. His brother, Bronislaw, was the next-to-youngest in the family. Before the Depression, Leon had established himself in the artistic world. His artistic talents were nurtured at the Art Institute of Chicago, spending his summers during those years at an art colony in Illinois. His artistic benefactors were the Studebaker family, owners of Studebaker Wagon Works Company, where his father was a blacksmith. He received a four-year traveling scholarship in Europe from the Art Institute with an annual stipend of $400 from the Studebaker family. His work at the time centered on landscapes, though he later became known for his portraits. He was scheduled to return to the United States on the Titanic; he didn’t end up aboard, though a couple of his paintings did go down with the ship.
Younger brother Bronislaw enjoyed fewer opportunities for patronage in the way that Leon benefited from the Studebaker family, as well as fewer opportunities for commissions for portraits from the wealthy. The Depression was a great leveler, and the economic downturn found both brothers struggling in their chosen field and ready for a new patron, which they found in the government-funded art programs. They collaborated on many New Deal-era projects, including the Royal Oak Murals.
In 1979, the murals were removed from the auditorium during renovations and stored in various locations across the district, remaining out of public view for more than 25 years. Their rediscovery in the spring of 2004 sparked a community-led effort to restore and reinstall the works.
Today, the murals once again hang in the auditorium of Royal Oak Middle School—formerly Royal Oak High School and Dondero High School—standing as an enduring symbol for community members who recognize the value of their shared past and celebrate the vitality of working together for a common goal.
