Mamaroneck Historical Society

The magnificent and historically significant James Fenimore Cooper murals, on the walls at Mamaroneck High School since 1941, are in the way of approved construction at the school. The Mamaroneck Historical Society believes the community should not lose this valuable asset. Construction is scheduled to begin April 1, 2022.

Our goal is to remove the eight murals from the walls of the high school and reinstall them in the Larchmont Mamaroneck community. Two of the murals, including one painted by Mimi Jennewein, a Mamaroneck High School graduate, are on walls that need to be taken down during construction and potentially damaged beyond repair in the process. The plan for the other six murals is to build a wall over them, making them no longer visible to anyone. This includes Mimi’s painting seen at the top of this page, entitled “The Marriage of Susan DeLancey of Mamaroneck in 1811” (7’7”x7’10”). Losing Mimi’s three paintings and the five paintings depicting scenes from James Fenimore Cooper’s Leatherstocking Tales will be a tremendous loss for our community.

Removing the murals requires hiring an art conservation company that specializes in safely removing large paintings done on canvas then glued to walls. The process may require lead abatement. The murals would then need to be cleaned and restored then installed at sites in the community. This is an expensive process, and we are seeking your support.

All raised funds will be used to finance the removal and restoration of the murals and work related to this effort. None of the funds will be used for any other purposes by the Mamaroneck Historical Society. The number of murals saved will depend on the amount of raised funds.

The murals were the result of the community coming together in 1934 to design, raise funds, and commission these massive paintings that have been seen by thousands of students over the past 81 years. This is our opportunity to come together as a community once again and support the effort to save the murals.