Two Matthews Hall freshmen got the surprise of their lives last Thursday when they returned to their bedroom to find a 20-square-foot mural on the wall where three hours before there had been nothing.

The explanation of this startling development lay in the enthusiasm and artistic skill of a member of the class of 1921. Philip L. Cheney '21 occupied the room in 1918, and painted on the plaster of his bedroom wall--he roomed alone in Matthews 6--a 5 1/2 by 3 1/2 foot landscape.

Since then the University had covered the walls with wallpaper, hiding the painting from view. As the years went by, layer after layer of paper went on in each successive redecoration of the room, until this year the college decided to give it a complete renovation, starting from scratch.

Careful, Hour's Job

Two workmen moved into the room last week with a wallpaper stripper, and proceeded to rip off the five coats of paper. A corner of the picture was discovered in the first few tears, and following that the workmen treated the operation with the greatest care. It took them a full hour of tense, delicate manipulation to entirely unveil the picture.

The painting has lost patches of plaster, and remnants of glue adhere to the surface, but the picture is still unmistakable. It shows a lake or bay surrounded by mountains, with summer villas perched on the water's edge, and a sailboat. The colors are rich greens and blues, and the detail of reflections and clouds shows the skill of an accomplished artist.

Cheney, in fact, is an artist by profession. His works hang in the Boston Art Museum, and the Congressional Library. This mural may well have been one of his first works, and as such, should be of definite interest to the College. He is not available for comment now so there is no way of telling how long it took him to paint it or what the reaction of the University officials to the landscape was at the time.