Conservation of América Tropical

Conservation, maintenance, public access, and interpretation for this mural, including new shelter, viewing platform, and interpretive center

Project Details

A massive wall mural on a rooftop sits under a large sunshade

América Tropical after conservation in 2012. Mural: © 2022 Artist Rights Society (ARS), New York / SOMAAP, Mexico City

About

Goal

The Conservation of América Tropical project sought to conserve and make publicly accessible, this mural by David Alfaro Siqueiros, through a 20-year partnership with the City of Los Angeles. Painted in 1932, the controversial mural was partially whitewashed shortly after it was painted and fully whitewashed within a decade. It languished forgotten for decades until the 1970s, when the now-faded mural was embraced by the Chicano Muralist Movement and other local champions.

Outcomes

  • Documentation and conservation of the mural
  • Scientific study
  • Construction of a protective shelter and public viewing platform
  • Installation of an interpretive center to facilitate public access
  • Post-treatment monitoring
  • Dissemination of project findings

Background

David Alfaro Siqueiros (1896–1974), one of the great Mexican artists of the 20th century, painted América Tropical in 1932 on the second story exterior wall of the Italian Hall, located along Olvera Street in El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument in Downtown Los Angeles. His only mural in the United States still in its original location, it measures approximately 80 by 18 feet and depicts an indigenous figure crucified on a double cross beneath an American eagle, with two sharpshooters taking aim at the eagle from a nearby rooftop.

Commissioned for the Plaza Art Center, the mural was controversial from the start and within a year of its completion was partially covered with white paint; within a decade, it was completely painted over.

Project History

Partner

City of Los Angeles: Office of the Mayor of Los Angeles, El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument and Bureau of Engineering

Resources