By Lauren Walker
![The Hand of God](https://brightspotcdn.byu.edu/dims4/default/cc7ad5c/2147483647/strip/true/crop/640x308+0+0/resize/640x308!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fbrigham-young-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ffb%2F3c%2F244db304444a9e989c8509d416db%2F820038686.jpeg)
Maynard Dixon (1875-1946), 'The Hand of God,' 1940, oil on masonite, 21 x 39 1/8 inches. Brigham Young University of Art.
"At first glance, the former Provo post office seems like an unlikely place for an artistic rivalry. The mural gracing the top wall depicts a pioneer-era Provo alongside a 1920s Provo. But the contrast of the two eras isn’t the surprising part of the painting: it’s the fact that local Utah artist Everett Thorpe beat out premier artist of the American West Maynard Dixon for the commission..."