Of more than 1,200 original works of art installed in post offices nationwide, Pennsylvania received 88, second only to New York, notes David Lembeck in the Summer 2008 issue of Pennsylvania Heritage.

The projects, completed between 1934 and 1943, were an offshoot of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal, which sought to stabilize a Depression-ravaged country.

Subject matter reflected the communities the artworks were created for and included scenes of farming and industry, and historic figures and events. There were 18 women among the 82 artists who worked in Pennsylvania, and 37 of the works were sculptural, not the murals traditionally associated with New Deal art.

Lembeck, a State College resident and 2008-09 Commonwealth Speaker for the Pennsylvania Humanities Council, has been scouting post office art and architecture for more than a decade and has found surviving work in both flourishing and economically depressed regions.

On Oct. 7, Lembeck and State Museum curator Curtis Miner will lead a Pennsylvania Heritage Society-sponsored day bus trip, departing from Harrisburg, to post office artworks in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area.

The bus trip is $125 for Heritage Society members and $150 for nonmembers. Included is admission to the Pennsylvania Anthracite Heritage Museum in Scranton and lunch in what Lembeck describes as a "magnificent" old train station.

Reservations must be made by Sept. 23 to Kelly VanSickle, Heritage Society membership coordinator, at 1-717-787-2407, (toll free) 1-866-823-6539 or c-kvansick@state.pa.us.

Lembeck's informative 10-page article is richly illustrated with photographs by Michael Mutmansky. The quarterly is available as a Heritage Society membership benefit, but it is possible to separately purchase through VanSickle the summer issue, which also includes a brief article on Felix de la Concha's painting residency at Fallingwater last year.

The Westmoreland Museum of American Art, Greensburg, announced Monday that it had received a sizable gift in support of its 50th anniversary celebrations, which begin in November. Richard M. Scaife, billionaire philanthropist and publisher, presented the museum with $500,000 and has put up an additional $250,000 challenge grant for further anniversary year fundraising.

The opening event will be "Scalp Level Revisited," an exhibition of southwestern Pennsylvania landscape and still life paintings, on Nov. 8. Other highlights include a community New Year's celebration Dec. 31, with fireworks, and a weekend of festivities May 29-31 that include a 50th anniversary ball.

Art, nature and iPods come together in a contest for Pittsburgh-area students, "My Space Is a Green Place -- Why Parks Matter to Me," sponsored by the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy.

Students are invited to express their love of and connection to nature via drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, writing and/or video. Contestants will be divided by age groups: grades second through fifth, sixth through eighth and ninth through 12th. Entries are due by 5 p.m. Aug. 20.

Prizes will include iPods, Burton hoodies, outdoor gear and free rides on the Schenley Plaza PNC Carousel. Finalists' work will be exhibited in September at the Hilton Pittsburgh during a conference of global urban park professionals.

Judges are Bill Bodine, director of the Frick Art & Historical Center; Jane Werner, executive director of the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh; Louise Sturgess, executive director of the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation; Tom Sokolowski, director of The Andy Warhol Museum; Gregg Behr, executive director of the Grable Foundation; Neil Barclay, president & CEO of the August Wilson Center for African American Culture; and Meg Cheever, president & CEO of the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy.

For applications and information: www.urbanparks08.org/studentartcontest or 412-682-7275.

Potter and garden artist Gary Pletsch, one of the original participants in the much missed East End Events, is hosting a public "arty party" at 210 Marlow St., West End (Pittsburgh 15220 for you mapquesters), from noon to dusk Saturday. Matthias Bodnar, David Edwards, Will Giannotti, Evan Schmidt, James Shipman and Alison Zapata will also be showing artwork. A $5 donation and a "potent grape or grain" are requested; or purchase a Pletsch tumbler with beverage for $10. Information: 412-920-6578.