San Francisco Art Institute may sell Diego Rivera mural to cover debt

The San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI), California's oldest art school, is considering selling a site-specific Diego Rivera mural valued at $50 million to repay a nearly $20 million loan from the California State University system. The mural, titled "The Making of a Fresco Showing the Building of a City" (1931), depicts the construction of a city and a mural within it, including Rivera himself. The school has six years to repay the loan, and the sale could also cover its $19 million annual budget. Potential buyers include the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, which would leave the mural in situ, and filmmaker George Lucas, who wants it for his Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles. The proposal has sparked outrage among faculty, alumni, and the teachers' union, who accuse the board of mismanagement and betraying the school's legacy. Board president Pam Rorke Levy stated that a sale is not final and that an in-situ arrangement with an institutional partner is preferred, but acknowledged that the discussion remains open given the school's financial pressures. The school had already laid off 70 faculty members due to the crisis.