Murals on the Outside Walls

I enjoyed reading Stephanie Cavanaugh’s mural articles in the Washington Post over last weekend. I had always wanted to know more about the famous Chagall mosaic/mural that he created as a thank you to his hosts, Evelyn Nef and her husband. I had seen it from a distance when some Georgetown clients pointed it out to me about 11 years ago. I had heard it was privately owned but I never knew how it was produced. I envisioned Chagall must have worked on it daily on site, but it was flown over in ten panels. I’m happy to learn that it will be bequeathed to the National Gallery when the owner departs.

Of the five exterior murals mentioned in Cavanaugh’s articles, which may be material for an upcoming book, I really liked the trompe l’oeil Italianate garden by Buon Fresco. That sense of depth and detail is hard to achieve on such a large space. Although one knows it’s a painting, the architectural elements really fool you. Pretty amazing work.

Since Ms. Cavanaugh has put a call out for outdoor murals, maybe I should mention the exterior public and private ones that I’ve painted, as well as regular public interior ones and the “secret” one just around the corner from me. Here they are, in no particular order of importance. Clicking on the photo brings you to their corresponding linked web pages to view more photos:

And some private exterior murals:

Finally, what I call the “secret” mural of the Masonic Temple, in Alexandria, VA, by Bryan King of Artifice. This one is located one block away and perpendicular to my residential street on a roof top: