Labors of the Heart depicts 5 individuals all taking part in an artistic endeavor. Two play music while one dances. A third is depicted drawing and a fourth crafting. Evett intended the three labors murals to highlight the spirit of Nebraskans.
The three large murals were painted by Kenneth Evett and added to the Capitol in 1956. They represent Industrial Enterprises, Intellectual Works, and Humanitarian Works, and are titled “The Labors of the Hand”, “The Labors of the Head” and “The Labors of the Heart”.
About Kenneth Evett
Professor Kenneth Evett won a nationwide juried competition to paint three murals for the Lincoln, Nebraska State Capitol building. The award not only provided him with a substantial prize with which he took his family to Rome, Italy, to spend his first sabbatical year, but also brought him some unwelcome national-level publicity when a Nebraskan legislator offered mocking comments about the “modern” art in the capitol building.
