Archives Treasure #3: Photos of Spafford murals removal from House
Workers remove one of the Spafford murals. (Photos courtesy Washington State Archives) In the long history of Olympia’s Legislative Building, you’d be hard-pressed to think of a more controversial set of artwork that once graced (some would say disgraced) its walls than the Spafford murals. Called the Twelve Labors of Hercules, they were created by artist Michael Spafford. Soon after the first murals appeared on the walls above the House Gallery in 1981, critics voiced displeasure over them. Some called…