San Francisco Artwork Institute Explores Controversial Sale of Diego Rivera Mural

The ailing San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) is considering selling its iconic Diego Rivera mural The Making of a Fresco Showing the Building of a City from 1931 to complement its foundation, which reportedly came in at just $ 10 million in June . Allegedly, Star Wars filmmaker George Lucas is said to have expressed interest in the $ 50 million mural that is said to have work for his Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, which is currently under construction in Los Angeles.

The SFAI, one of the oldest and most prestigious art schools in the country, has had difficulty staying open home and laying off faculty and staff since March. The school reversed an announced closure decision in July but has yet to find a way to pay off the debt while raising approximately $ 19 million in operating costs.

The site-specific Rivera tableau, which shows workers on a trompe l’oeil scaffolding, which shows a fresco depicting a city under construction, is only one of three in the city by the renowned Mexican muralist. The plant is located on the school’s campus on Chestnut Street, which was acquired by the University of California’s Board of Regents when it bought nearly $ 20 million of SFAI debt last fall to help keep the school from collapsing maintain. Should the SFAI fail to pay this debt by 2026, the campus and mural will become the property of the University of California after the lease expires.

The mural could be saved on-site through a foundation that SFAI is alleged to be actively seeking, or through a plan that has the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art buy the work and leave it on campus.

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