San Francisco Art Institute

The San Francisco Art Institute will conserve and stabilize its monumental 1931 Diego Rivera fresco, The Making of a Fresco Showing the Building of a City. Occupying the north wall of the institute’s Diego Rivera Gallery, it is one of three murals by Rivera in San Francisco. Based on the previous assessments and recommendations from conservators, the project team will address remedial treatments including re-adhesion of flaking or unstable paint; removal of salt efflorescence; removal of bird guano; and removal of particulate deposition. Restorative treatments will include in-painting to address the faded color in several areas. Separately, the institute will engage architects and structural engineers to conduct a survey of the gallery itself to determine environmental improvements that would support the stabilization of the fresco and prevent future damage.