Pass of the North

LITHOGRAPH
 
Discover the 1938 Pass of the North mural by Tom Lea, originally created for the U.S. Federal Courthouse in El Paso, Texas. The mural spans 11 × 54 feet in its original form and represents the layered history of the El Paso del Norte region, known historically as the “Pass of the North.” Figures such as Indigenous people, Spanish explorers, missionaries, and settlers appear across the scene, reflecting the cultures that shaped the borderland. 
 
“I hold two hopes for this work just completed. One, that it may bring to life in a few minds that vivid history of the Pass of the North. And the other, that the point of view I have taken as a creative artist may help to demonstrate that the function of a mural painting in a community is to deepen and to enrich a people’s perception of its own tradition and the character of its own land.”
– Tom Lea, El Paso Herald Post. June 24, 1938.
 
The lithograph measures approximately 14″ × 39″ including a white border, offering a scaled representation of the mural’s composition and detail.