In 1938 Möessel received a large-scale commission for the Chicago Field Museum of Natural History and support from the
Works Progress Administration (WPA) to illustrate "the human activities which grow out of man's use of plants for food" (Field's 1938 Annual Report). Julius was 66 when he accepted this commission, it was his largest project in scope and money during this difficult period (the Great Depression and onset of blindness, later corrected with cataract surgery). He took great pains in research to assure the 18 murals were accurate concerning the various topics and relevant plants. The paintings below may have been studies for the project or ideas stimulated after the commission was complete. Explore the Historical Photo section, which includes B&W photos of many of the murals. Many of the original paintings are still on display at the Field Museum. (ref. Mark Alvey, Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, 2016)