Experts ponder fixing subway mural mistake
Port Authority workers preparing to remove a mural from a Downtown subway station discovered that the tiled painting installed 24 years ago is worth millions of dollars.
As it prepares for construction of a new Gateway Center T station, the transit agency is planning how to remove the ceramic mural -- one tile at a time -- and pondering whether it should correct an error in the placement of one tile.
The authority commissioned artist Romare Bearden to paint the mural that was unveiled with the station's 1984 opening. The 60-foot by 13-foot mural was painted on 780 tiles that were mounted on the subway wall opposite the station's platform.
One tile accidentally was installed upside-down and not corrected, authority officials said. Bearden, one of the nation's premier black artists who lived in Pittsburgh in his youth, died in 1988 at age 76.
The situation creates a dilemma for the transit agency, which plans to remove the tiles, store them during construction and remount them when work is done. Should the agency correct the mistake when it reinstalls the mural or keep the mistake intact?
The Romare Bearden Foundation of New York City is digging through Bearden's writings to see if the artist expressed an opinion on the errant tile, said Diedra Harris-Kelley, a program associate at the foundation, which supports other black artists and scholars.
"I hope they think carefully about that," she said.
The foundation's findings would be a significant factor in how art aficionados would receive a possible change to Bearden's work, said Richard Powell, an expert on African-American art at Duke University, where he is a John Spenser Bassett professor of art history and former chair of the school's Art and Art History Department.
"My immediate question is, 'What was his take on that?'" Powell said. "Sometimes there are happy accidents in the world of art. Artists do have accidents. I have no idea if that's the situation here."
"I think basically one has to respect the thoughts of the artist," he said.
The misplaced tile is not immediately obvious to a viewer. It's among several brownish-colored background tiles. On close inspection, the lines in the misplaced tile do not meet the lines on surrounding tiles.
Port Authority officials have acknowledged the mural is worth "millions of dollars," but did not respond to repeated requests to discuss the mural, including how much the agency paid the artist for his efforts.
The mural is a visual story of Pittsburgh's history, showing scenes such as steelworkers carrying lunch buckets to a mill and settlers canoeing on a river.
Its high value is no surprise to those familiar with Bearden's work, like Powell, who say it's not uncommon for his smaller-sized pieces to sell for high prices.
"I don't think that figure is wrong," Powell said. "He's deceased, so there are no more Beardens out there that are going to be made. He's a highly respected artist whose work is in all the major museums of the world."
A Bearden paper collage titled "The Flower Girl" is scheduled to be auctioned by Sotheby's on April 2 in New York City for an estimated $150,000 to $200,000.
The subway mural, which covers 780 square feet, easily would be valued far higher than a standard wall-mounted collage or painting, experts said.
Bearden painted other public murals, including one in the New York City subway and another in Baltimore, Harris-Kelley said.
Construction will force the Gateway Center Station to close for two years starting next spring. It is part of the agency's $435 million North Shore Connector expansion under the Allegheny River.
Additional Information:
Great value
Romare Bearden's works have sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars at auctions. In contrast to the 60-by-13-foot subway mural, typical Bearden pieces are much smaller. Here's a partial list of Bearden collages auctioned by Sotheby's of New York.
• 'Manhattan Suite,' 24-by-18 inches, sold Feb. 26, 2007, for $240,000.
• 'The Savoy,' 35-by-46 inches, sold Oct. 11, 2006, for $216,000.
• 'You Know How It Used To Be,' 13-by-20 inches, sold Feb. 26, 2007, for $103,200.
Source: Sotheby's
