San Francisco Art Institute campus, home to Diego Rivera fresco, hits the market

The fate of the Diego Rivera mural, which may be worth more than the buildings, hangs in the balance.

Diego Rivera’s 74-foot-wide fresco “The Making of a Fresco Showing the Building of a City,” painted in 1931, a designated city landmark, is located in a private gallery in the now-shuttered San Francisco Art Institute, which was just listed for sale.

Photo: Jessica Christian/The Chronicle 2022

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.

Zoya Kocur, program manager of the Diego Rivera Fresco Project, stands beneath “The Making of a Fresco Showing the Building of a City” after the school announced its permanent closure last year.

Photo: Jessica Christian/The Chronicle 2022

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.

The tower at San Francisco Art Institute is part of the original structure built in 1926; an addition was built in 1968. The campus was recently listed for sale about two months after the school filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

Photo: Jessica Christian/The Chronicle 2022

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

  • Aidin Vaziri
    Aidin Vaziri

    Aidin Vaziri is a staff writer at The San Francisco Chronicle.