The mural paintings in, the Court of Abundance consist of eight panels by Frank Brangwyn, perhaps the greatest living mural decorator, placed in the four corners of the cloister. Though not entirely in key with the color scheme and not an integral part of the court as a whole, these are distinctly the works of a master. Ultra-learned critics will tell you that they fail as decorations, since they are interesting as individual pictures rather than as panels heightening the architectural charm. But their placing shows clearly that there was no intention that they should appear as part of the architectural scheme. It is better to accept them as pictures, forgetting the set standards by which one ordinarily judges mural painting.

The eight paintings represent the elements: two panels each for Fire, Earth, Air and Water. There are no conventional figures here personifying the elements, but scenes from the life of intensely human people, typifying the uses to which man has put the elements.

Fire. Beginning on the tower side of the court, at the northeast corner, are the two panels representing Fire. The one on the north wall is called "Primitive Fire." A group of figures surround a fire, some nursing it and some holding out their hands to the heat, while a man at the back brings fagots. Note the color accents in the robes of the three standing figures.

"Industrial Fire," on the east wall, represents the bringing of fire into the service of man. In some particulars this is among the finest of the paintings, but the transverse cloud of smoke seems to break it awkwardly.

Earth is represented in the two panels in the northwest corner. The one on the north wall is entitled "The Fruit Pickers," typifying the wealth of products that man obtains from the earth. This is perhaps the richest of the panels, in the profusion of color and of alluring form.

The panel on the west wall is "The Dancing of the Grapes," a variation of the theme of "The Fruit Pickers." It tells the story of the grape: above are the pickers and the harvesters with baskets; at the right two figures dancing to crush the juices from the grapes; and in the foreground a group with the finished wine. The confusion of figures at first is puzzling; but viewed simply as a spotting of bright colors there is no finer panel among them all. It is better to stand well back along the colonnade, and forgetting the subject, to delight in the purely sensuous impression.

Air is represented in the two panels in the southwest corner. The one on the south wall is called "The Hunters." The theme is suggested in the idea of the arrows fleeing on the wings of the air, and also by the flight of birds above.

The panel on the west wall is called "The Windmill." Note how the feeling of moving air is suggested everywhere: in the skies at the back, in the clouds and the kites, in the trees and the grain-field, in the draperies, and even in the figures themselves that are braced against the wind. The coloring is glorious, and the composition fine. The disposition of masses of light and dark is notable the dark figures grouped against the golden grain, and the gold-brown windmill against the dark sky. No panel in the grounds will better repay intensive study.

Water is represented in the panels of the southwest corner of the court. The one on the south wall is called "The Net," and typifies the wealth that man draws from the water. A group of fishermen are hauling in a net, and carriers bring baskets at the back.

"The Fountain," the panel on the east wall, shows a group of people who have come to fill their jars at a spring. The colors here are softer, though quite as rich as elsewhere. The lower half of the painting is, indeed, like a richly colored mosaic.

After examining "The Fountain" at close range it is well to step back to the middle of this south corridor. Look first at "The Windmill" and then turn to look again at "The Fountain." Note, how, when the subjects are once understood, the great distance increases rather than decreases the charm of the paintings. Note especially how beautiful each one is when considered merely as a pattern of color. These two panels, if not the finest of all, at least must take rank among the best three or four.