View source for Life of Washington (murals)

{{Display censorship incident
|ongoing=no
|year=1936
|region=North America
|artist=Victor Arnautoff,
|subject=Political/Economic/Social Opinion
|confronting_bodies=San Francisco Board of Education
|medium=Painting, Public Art
|date_of_action=December 2018-June 2019
|location=San Francisco, CA
|description_of_content=“Life of Washington” is a mural comprising thirteen panels in fresco on the life of George Washington that depict him in both real and imagined scenarios. It was painted by Russian-American painter and Stanford professor of art Victor Arnautoff in the 1930s (with assistance from artists George Harris and Gorden Langdon) and completed in 1936 at the newly built George Washington High School in San Francisco. 

Funded by the Works Progress Administration's (WPA) Federal Art Project, the murals were Arnautoff’s largest New Deal commission and one of the largest ensembles of New Deal artworks at a single site. Arnautoff was a well-known muralist, having painted other WPA funded projects including murals at Coit Tower where he was Technical Director of the project.

Arnautoff presented the murals as a counter-narrative to high school history texts of the time. The murals depicted Washington's dependence on slave labor, his role in Manifest Destiny and Westward Expansion, and the “march of the white race” (in Arnautoff’s words). In one panel Washington is depicted pointing westward over the body of dead Native American. 

Arnautoff's political views were influenced by Diego Rivera, for whom he worked as an assistant while living in Mexico. His style is considered more subtle than Rivera's and that of other social realists of the period. Later he joined the Communist Party, the American Artists' Congress and the San Francisco Artists and Writers Union. His politics were reflected in his work, which was part of the mural arts movement intended to inspire change through criticism of the current political system. 

Two of the mural panels have come under fire since the 1960’s for their depictions of African Americans and Native Americans. For decades, activists have called for their removal.
|description_of_incident=In December 2018, George Washington High School was denied landmark status specifically due to the two panels containing offensive content. The high school is part of the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) and under the jurisdiction of the Board of Education. The Board was divided about the school’s application for landmark status because designating it as such would make it impossible to modify or remove the murals afterwards.

The SFUSD created a 13-member “Reflection and Action Group” to provide a recommendation to the Board. In February 2019, after four public meetings, they issued their final recommendation to remove the entire series of murals from the school.

The George Washington High School Alumni Association GWHSAA) launched a campaign to keep the 83-year-old murals intact. The alumni proposed adding interpretive panels to give them historical context and to also document how they have been experienced by Native American, African American, and other students of color.

The story was extensively covered in both local and national media. Those who would censor the work cited its depiction of slavery and the murder of a Native American as traumatizing to some students of color. Others, including NCAC and the leaders of four of San Francisco’s top visual arts institutions, argued that it is an artistic and historical treasure that does not celebrate the life of George Washington uncritically, but rather depicts him as complicit in slavery and the violent pursuit of America’s “Manifest Destiny.”
|description_of_result=On June 25, 2019, the San Francisco Board of Education voted unanimously to remove/paint over the murals. But in early August, after months of public pressure, the Board nullified their vote: 

"In a compromise that did not appear to end the fight, the San Francisco Board of Education voted Tuesday night to conceal, but not destroy, a series of Depression-era school murals that some considered offensive to Native Americans and African-Americans.

"The 4-to-3 vote, which came after a tense and emotional meeting, nullified the board’s earlier vote to paint over the murals, a decision that had brought widespread complaints of censorship."
(NYTimes, August 14, 2019)
|image=Arnautoff, Life of Washington.jpg
|source=https://www.donnagraves.org/blog/2018/2/27/citywide-historic-context-for-new-deal-san-francisco
}}
GEORGE WASHINGTON HIGH SCHOOL: ARNAUTOFF MURAL – SAN FRANCISCO CA
https://livingnewdeal.org/projects/george-washington-high-school-arnautoff-mural-san-francisco-ca/

CITYWIDE HISTORIC CONTEXT FOR NEW DEAL SAN FRANCISCO
https://www.donnagraves.org/blog/2018/2/27/citywide-historic-context-for-new-deal-san-francisco
...

Aug. 25, 2019 
Feinstein on SF mural flap: Don’t destroy it, don’t cover it up
https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/philmatier/article/Feinstein-on-SF-mural-flap-Don-t-destroy-it-14374916.php

Aug. 21, 2019
Alice Walker Defends George Washington Murals
“Why try to hide the reality of our history?” she said of the objectionable images that confronted San Francisco students every day.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/21/arts/design/alice-walker-defends-george-washington-murals.html

August 14, 2019
San Francisco School Board Votes to Hide, but Not Destroy, Disputed Murals
The vote, which came after a tense meeting, nullified an earlier vote to paint over Depression-era school murals that some considered offensive to minorities.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/14/arts/san-francisco-murals-george-washington.html

August 12, 2019
Actor Danny Glover Opposes Washington High Mural Removal; Calls Plan ‘A Book Burning’
https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2019/08/12/washington-high-mural-actor-danny-glover-book-burning/

Aug. 7, 2019 
Hundreds of people flood SF school to see mural slated for destruction
https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/More-than-100-people-flood-SF-school-to-see-mural-14274260.php

August 6, 2019
San Francisco NAACP Leaders Call For Preservation Of Controversial School Mural
https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2019/08/06/san-francisco-naacp-leaders-preservation-controversial-school-mural/

Aug 2, 2019
Voters may decide whether to save or destroy historic murals
Locals push to preserve controversial 1936 WPA art at SF high school
https://sf.curbed.com/2019/8/2/20751847/racist-san-francisco-mural-washington-vote-ballot-measure

Aug. 1, 2019
More than 100 people flood SF school to see mural slated for destruction
Nanette Asimov
https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/More-than-100-people-flood-SF-school-to-see-mural-14274260.php?psid=aMZbp

July 31 2019
The Shame of the Mural Censors — Why Art and History Matter
By DeWitt Cheng
https://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/the-shame-of-the-mural-censors-why-art-and-history-matter/Content?oid=27198706

July 27, 2019
The Case for Keeping San Francisco’s Disputed George Washington Murals
Exposure to art — even uncomfortable art — is healthy, stimulating, and worthy of students’ debate.
ROBERTA SMITH
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/26/arts/design/george-washington-san-francisco-murals.html

July 27, 2019
Screaming match erupts over vote to remove Washington mural at San Francisco high school - CNN Video
https://www.cnn.com/videos/media/2019/07/27/school-board-votes-to-remove-historic-mural-san-francisco-smerconish-vpx.cnn

July 25, 2019
PD Editorial: Don’t destroy San Francisco school’s Washington mural
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/opinion/9830114-181/pd-editorial-dont-destroy-the?sba=AAS

July 25, 2019
PD Editorial: Don’t destroy San Francisco school’s Washington mural
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/opinion/9830114-181/pd-editorial-dont-destroy-the?sba=AAS

JULY 2019
Destroying Antiracist Art Will Not End Racism
BY AQSA AHMAD
https://www.jacobinmag.com/2019/07/art-san-francisco-george-washington

JULY 23, 2019
Whitewashing American History: the WPA Mural Controversy in San Francisco
by JACK HEYMAN
https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/07/23/whitewashing-american-history-the-wpa-mural-controversy-in-san-francisco/

JULY 22, 2019
Move to erase George Washington mural sparks firestorm among Dems
By CARLA MARINUCCI
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/07/22/george-washington-mural-san-francisco-1424425

San Francisco Highschool Pledges to Paint Over Washington Mural
By Victor Westerkamp
https://www.ntd.com/san-francisco-highschool-pledges-to-paint-over-washington-mural_359863.html

July 15, 2019
Mural supporters plan 2020 ballot measure to protect controversial fresco at Washington High
https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Mural-supporters-plan-2020-ballot-measure-to-14097830.php

NCAC Op-Ed July 12, 2019
Open Forum: SF school board need not be a regime that destroys art
By Svetlana Mintcheva 
https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/Open-Forum-SF-school-board-need-not-be-a-regime-14089832.php

NCAC Letter: May 6, 2019
SAN FRANCISCO HIGH SCHOOL MAY DESTROY HISTORICAL MURALS
https://ncac.org/news/san-francisco-high-school-may-destroy-historical-murals

Professor Dewey Crumpler Defends GWHS Murals
GWHS Alumni Assn SF CA
Art Professor Dewey Crumpler defends Victor Arnautoff's (WPA/PWA 1936) Murals and discusses how the Arnautoff murals relate to his [Crumpler's] 1974 murals, and vice versa, at George Washington High School (San Francisco, California).  We must face, not erase, America’s dark history.  Censorship is never acceptable. - GWHS Alumni Association
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZEMpyvdAXQ&feature=youtu.be

June 26, 2019
San Francisco school board votes to destroy controversial Washington High mural
Jill Tucker 
https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/San-Francisco-school-board-votes-to-destroy-14050025.php

SF school board votes to destroy circa 1936 mural
“No one has the right to tell us as native people—or our young people who walk those halls everyday—how they feel”  
https://sf.curbed.com/2019/6/24/18716046/george-washington-high-murals-sfusd-vote-victor-arnautoff

SFUSD Approves Covering Controversial George Washington High School Mural
https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2019/06/26/george-washington-high-school-mural-cover-up-sfusd/

June 25, 2019
Bay Area art leaders on censorship of George Washington High mural
The controversial mural will see its fate decided during a Tuesday evening school board meeting 
https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/art-exhibits/bay-area-art-leaders-on-censorship-of-george-washington-high-mural

School board votes to paint over historic high school mural
Alumni have threatened to sue over removal of frescoes depicting slavery, death of Native Americans
https://www.sfexaminer.com/the-city/school-board-votes-to-paint-over-offensive-sections-of-historic-high-school-mural/

June 24, 2019
Open Forum: The San Francisco School Board is flunking history
By Lope Yap Jr.  
https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/Open-Forum-The-San-Francisco-School-Board-is-14039382.php

June 20, 2019
High school mural debate a reminder that destroying art destroys our culture
https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/art-exhibits/high-school-mural-debate-a-reminder-that-destroying-art-destroys-our-culture

June 19, 2019
Activists want a racist San Francisco high school mural removed
https://tworowtimes.com/opinion/activists-want-a-racist-san-francisco-high-school-mural-removed/

June 17, 2019
Fate of controversial SF high school mural down to three options 
https://www.sfchronicle.com/education/article/Fate-of-controversial-SF-high-school-mural-down-14008090.php?psid=auUdw

June 15, 2019
National Coalition Against Censorship Urges Retaining Washington Murals
https://sfrichmondreview.com/2019/06/15/national-coalition-against-censorship-urges-retaining-washington-murals/

June 10 2019
Activists want a high school mural removed. Should its impact today overshadow the artist's intentions?
https://www.cnn.com/style/article/george-washington-mural-conversation/index.html

MAY 13, 2019
David and Art - "High School Mural"
By BRODIE BASHAW 
https://www.kwbu.org/post/david-and-art-high-school-mural#stream/0

May 7, 2019 9:00 p.m
Feds could weigh in on fight over preservation of historic mural
SFUSD working group favors removal of controversial Washington High School fresco
https://www.sfexaminer.com/the-city/feds-could-weigh-in-on-fight-over-preservation-of-historic-mural/

May 3, 2019
High School May Remove George Washington Mural that 'Traumatizes Students and Community Members'
http://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2019/may/high-school-may-remove-george-washington-mural-that-traumatizes-students-and-community-members

Apr 15, 2019
STUDENT OPINION
Should School Murals That Depict an Ugly History Be Removed?
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/15/learning/should-school-murals-that-depict-an-ugly-history-be-removed.html

April 11, 2019
These High School Murals Depict an Ugly History. Should They Go?
By Carol Pogash
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/11/arts/design/george-washington-murals-ugly-history-debated.html

April 9, 2019
Historic WPA murals at George Washington High School are facing destruction due to controversial depictions of Native Americans and African-Americans
https://richmondsfblog.com/2019/04/09/historic-wpa-murals-at-george-washington-high-school-are-facing-destruction-due-to-controversial-depictions-of-native-americans-and-african-americans/

April 8, 2019
Critics say mural depicting slavery, Native Americans at a San Francisco high school is offensive
http://www.ktvu.com/news/ktvu-local-news/critics-say-mural-depicting-slavery-native-americans-at-a-san-francisco-high-school-is-offensive

Offensive or important? Debate flares anew over SF school mural depicting slavery
https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Offensive-or-important-Debate-flares-anew-over-13748800.php

April 2, 2019 
Washington High Alumni Push to Keep Dubious Mural
A mural showing colonizers stepping over a dead Native American has long been controversial, but an alumni group is fighting to save it.
http://www.sfweekly.com/news/washington-high-alumni-push-to-keep-dubious-mural/

;Note
Photo by Amanda Law