SFMOMA and City College settle dispute over mural transport cost
A legal battle over moving fees to transport a famed Diego Rivera fresco from the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art to its home at City College of San Francisco has been settled out of court.
Under terms of a deal announced Wednesday afternoon, City College and SFMOMA agreed to withdraw competing lawsuits over who will pay to de-install and transport the mammoth multi-panel fresco, titled “Pan American Unity,” from SFMOMA back to its home at the main campus of City College.
The mural was on a three-year loan to the museum, where it was on free public display, under an agreement to return it to the main campus of City College, where it will eventually be the artistic centerpiece of a new performing arts center scheduled to begin construction in January 2025.
A lawsuit filed in October by SFMOMA claimed that City College had refused to pay its share of the project under original terms that called for the museum to not pay in excess of $3.97 million to deinstall and transport the 30-ton 1,600-square-foot panorama in both directions. The process required seven trips by moving truck.
At the time, SFMOMA stated that the estimated cost to conserve, pack and transport “Pan American Unity” in both directions was $6.4 million. The museum claimed that it had already paid more than $4 million in fees, obligating City College to pay the balance due of around $2 million. But City College had not paid anything, according to the complaint.
Under the terms of the settlement, both parties will now share the cost of the overage. The exact amount was not specified.
“The settlement is the result of a positive, collaborative effort by SFMOMA and CCSF’s board leadership and includes essential cost-sharing to support the complex work involved in moving the fragile 30-ton, 22-foothigh-by-74-foot-long mural,” the parties stated in a joint news release.
The work had originally been painted by the acclaimed Mexican artist for the Golden Gate International Exposition on Treasure Island from 1939-40.
After the fair, it became the property of City College, where it was stored for 20 years before being displayed in the Diego Rivera Theater, which the school opened in 1961.
That theater is now being replaced by the new art complex, financed by an $845 million bond measure passed by voters in 2020.
Because the fresco had to be removed for the theater demolition, SFMOMA agreed to house it and put it on display in its free gallery at the museum’s Howard Street entrance. The mural made its museum debut in 2021 when SFMOMA reopened after the pandemic lockdown. Since then, more than half a million people have visited it.
In January, “Pan American Unity” was closed to viewing and covered by a construction wall in advance of de-installation, which can now move forward.
Neither organization was available for further comment.