The historicSan Francisco Art Institutecampus is looking for a buyer.
Just over two months since filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection, trustees at the 152-year-old institution have listed its nearly 2-acre tract at the edge of Russian Hill for sale. The campus at 800 Chestnut St., designated city landmark No. 85, has hit the market for an undisclosed price.
But the potential buyer may pay a hefty sum, as the property contains an original 1931Diego Riverafresco estimated to be worth more than the buildings that house it. The real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield, whichlisted the campus, said the artwork is available for acquisition along with the real estate.
Chapter 7 bankruptcyrequires the liquidation of assets to repay creditors, and the art school, which closed its doors in July 2022, has debts of more than $10 million. Most prominent among its creditors is the University of San Francisco, which claims it is owed around $6 million following the dissolution of a deal to acquire SFAI last summer.
The 74-foot-wide Rivera mural, titled “The Making of a Fresco Showing the Building of a City,” is estimated to be worth approximately $50 million, according to the bankruptcy declaration. But some art critics have called the work priceless. It is one of three such pieces of Rivera’s work in San Francisco.
The fresco could theoretically be sold on its own, but it may be challenging to separate the artwork from the real estate deal. When news of SFAI’s financial troubles first surfaced in 2021, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors swiftly voted to declare the mural a city landmark, meaning that it legally cannot be moved.
SFAI filed for bankruptcy on April 19, according to documents reviewed by The Chronicle.
John Marx, who served as co-chair of SFAI’s board, told The Chronicle at that time that if the institution had been allowed to sell the privately commissioned mural, it would have saved the school that educated artists such as安塞尔·亚当斯,Annie LeibovitzandKehinde Wiley.
The property listing also includes two buildings totaling approximately 93,000 square feet. The main campus, built in 1926 and designed by San Francisco architectsBakewell and Brown, features the iconic bell tower, interior courtyard, library, classrooms, galleries and offices. The addition, built in 1968 and designed byPaffard Keatinge-Clay, includes a rooftop amphitheater, interior theater, galleries and studios with bay views.
“这是一个非常特殊的具有里程碑意义的财产和意志make an inspiring home for another education institution, museum or other creative/innovative use,” Tom Christian, executive managing director of Cushman & Wakefield, said in a statement.
The total value of assets is just under $65 million, according to SFAI.
Reach Aidin Vaziri: avaziri@sfchronicle.com