Olin Dows was from a prominant New York family, and grew up with a close relationship to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Dows, working with New York art cristic, Forbes Watson, played a role in establishing the Treasury Department's fine art program. Receiving commissions through the Treasury Section of Fine Arts (TSFA), he created two post office murals. The first commission, a post office mural in Rhinebeck, NY, in 1940, and the second in Hyde Park, NY, in 1941. In 1942, Dows enlisted in the Army, serving in the European Theater of Operations, (ETO) as a war artist.
