The Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka

"It was a year ago today that I walked into St. Nicholas Church and viewed for the first time, Maxo Vanka’s murals. I remember taking a seat in the last pew to regain my breath. Vanka’s murals flooded my sight and soul -- politics, economic systems, folklife, peasants, immigrants, the Byzantine style of the paintings. And then the deeper dialogue: a thirst for social justice, an uncommon respect for common people; spirituality; and above all -- Mother."
Frances Babic, Curator, Croatian Heritage Museum, Eastlake, OH -- 1995

In 1937 and 1941, Maximillian Vanka painted twenty-two murals that cover nearly 11,000 square feet of space on the interior walls of St. Nicholas Church in Millvale.  Over the years, these murals have been nationally recognized for the quality of the art and the unusual emotional impact of the images.  They've also become an important element in Pittsburgh's cultural landscape.

Part religious imagery, part Slavic folk art painting, and part Pittsburgh industrial scenes, the murals totally dominate the church.  Vanka, who has been called the Croatian Diego Rivera, captured the urgency and the despair of working class families as they struggle to deal with the realities of war and economic depression.

"Although Vanka's Millvale works engage themes readily found in the murals of Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration -- such as labor, the family, and community values, they contain a moral intensity and socially critical perspective not generally found in the idealized image of America that emerged within much of WPA art."
Dr. Barbara McCloskey,
associate professor of Art at the University of Pittsburgh

To read the full version of Dr. McCloskey’s analysis, click here.

In 1981, the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation created a special awards category to recognize and protect the murals.  In 1982, they were placed on the National Register of Historic places and in 2001 the Heinz History Center organized a retrospective of Vanka’s work with pictures of the murals as its centerpiece. Media coverage has been extensive since their creation to today. Articles in the newspapers and popular magazines of the 1930’s and 40’s have been augmented by documentaries, academic analysis and blog posts in recent years. There is a substantial collection of Vanka’s work in the James A. Michener Museum in Doylestown, Pennsylvania but the majority is part of the family’s private collection in Bucks County.


The Society to Preserve the Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) organization in 1990 to help raise awareness and appreciation for the murals as well as build support for their preservation. In 2009, the Society redoubled efforts to realize its mission and is undertaking an ambitious fundraising campaign to clean, light and increase public access the murals. To learn more about the Campaign and/or to make a donation, click here.