Activists seek to stop Trump from demolishing ‘Sistine Chapel of New Deal Art’

Artists and historians are petitioning the administration of President Donald Trump to stop reported plans seeking to demolish what they call the “Sistine Chapel of New Deal Art” and three other federally owned buildings.

Last month, Mydelle Wright, a retired senior administrator for the U.S. General Services Administration’s historic buildings portfolio, revealed that the Trump administration was finalizing a bid package to analyze and recommend the demolition of four historic federal buildings.

Wright’s remarks were made in a supplemental court declaration filed in the preservation group Cultural Heritage Partners’ case against the Trump administration regarding its actions with the Eisenhower Executive Office Building at the White House.

Wright said that the buildings the Trump administration is seeking to demolish include the Robert C. Weaver Federal Building, the Wilbur J. Cohen Federal Building, the GSA Regional Office Building, and the Liberty Loan Building.

The Wilbur J. Cohen Federal Building, of particular note, was listed last May as an asset “identified for accelerated disposition” by the GSA, which is tasked managing the federal government's real estate portfolio and executing the sale or transfer of properties.

Now, advocates have penned a petition demanding that the Trump administration stop its plans to demolish the Cohen Building. The news was first reported by Hyperallergic.

“We are deeply concerned by the proposed sale and potential demolition of the Wilbur J. Cohen Federal Building in Washington, D.C., which houses some of the most significant works of public art in our nation’s history,” the advocates said in the petition.

The GSA’s own website notes the Cohen Building’s artistic, architectural and historical importance. It particularly celebrated four granite bas relief panels with social security themes by artists Emma Lou Davis and Henry Kreis and indoor murals painted by Seymour Fogel, Philip Guston, Ethel and Jenne Magafan, and Ben Shahn.

“The Cohen Building is home to Ben Shahn’s 1942 fresco masterpiece, The Meaning of Social Security. This work, which Shahn himself considered his finest, is part of a rare and fragile cycle of murals that includes pivotal works by Philip Guston, Seymour Fogel, and the Magafan sisters,” the petition said.

“Together, these works have earned the building the title of the "Sistine Chapel of New Deal Art."

The artists and historians who drafted and signed the petition described the murals as “irreplaceable cultural assets” and not just "decorations.”

“They are integral to the architectural fabric of the building. Because they were painted using techniques like fresco-secco, they are extremely delicate,” the petition said,. “Structural demolition of the building would almost certainly lead to the destruction of the art, as removal is technically high-risk and prohibitively expensive.”

The petition was drafted by Social Security Works executive director Alex Lawson with local muralist Absurdly Well. Lawson described Trump’s actions regarding such buildings as “authoritarianism 101,” according to Hyperallergic.

“Erasing art culture and history is how authoritarians make it seem there’s nothing better than the thin gruel of cruelty they are offering,” Lawson said. “We couldn’t stop them from destroying the East Wing of the White House, but I pledge we’ll stop them from destroying the Wilbur Cohen building.”

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