Image Courtesy of Willie Allen. Used with the permission of the United States Postal Service®. All rights reserved.
Artist: Richard Sargent (1911-1978)
Title: Men at Rest
Date: 1939
Dimensions: 12 ft. x 5 ft.
Medium: oil on canvas
Location: Conway County Courthouse, located at 112 South Moose Street, Morrilton, Arkansas
Mural at time of installation. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
About the Mural: Richard Sargent was commissioned for $590 to create a mural for Morrilton, Arkansas as a result of an Honorable Mention in a Section of Fine Arts Competition. The section chose the current composition, formerly titled ‘Thirsting Men,’ from a number of black and white sketches Sargent had submitted. The mural is Sargent’s interpretation of the weariness one feels after a day’s work under a hot sun.
The mural depicts three men in front of a wagon load of hay as they pause a moment to take turns quenching their thirst. To the left of the wide meadow is a barn and another wagon from which hay is being unloaded. The mountain in the background is typical of the Arkansas Ozarks.
About the Artist: Richard Sargent was born in Moline, Illinois on March 26, 1911. His career began with the architectural firm, Whitsell and Schulzke, but later he redirected his attention toward commercial art, working with engraving and advertising companies. He studied at the Corcoran School of Art in Washington D.C. for two years and the Phillips School for one year under Law Watkins. He had numerous one man shows including exhibitions in New York, Washington, and San Francisco, among others. He illustrated an article on Washington in the Christmas issue of Fortune Magazine in 1934, and is represented in the permanent collection of the Phillips Memorial Gallery.
About the Location: Morrilton, the seat of Conway County, was established in 1972. It is situated at the foothills of the Ozark 
Mountains. Arkansas’s first state park, Petit Jean, is located on the opposite side of the Arkansas River from Morrilton. The town’s mild climate promotes a wide crops ranging from corn to cotton to wheat. Furthermore, the town purports a variety of transportation methods including rail, air, and port facilities.