For more than 25 years, giant blue whales swam across the side of a downtown Dallas building, an unlikely splash of ocean life in a landlocked Texas city that had become part of its identity.
Then last week, suddenly, the whales began to disappear.
The whales, which were painted by Wyland, the marine artist who typically goes by his last name, were an artistic fixture in the city until crews on forklifts started painting over it with blue paint ahead of the FIFA World Cup, making way for a new project to celebrate the coming tournament.
The mural’s erasure has stirred many emotions, particularly from Wyland, who said he was unaware that most of it would be covered.
“They’re destroying the integrity of the mural,” Wyland, 69, said on Monday. “This was a gift to the people in Dallas.”
The mural, “Ocean Life,” was one of 103 painted by Wyland, whose work can be found in countries including China and Cuba. The one in Dallas, which was dedicated on April 16, 1999, spanned two sides of the building, reaching 82 feet high and 164 feet long.
Wyland and the Wyland Foundation said they had filed a cease and desist letter as they assess what happened. But on Monday afternoon, only the upper corner of the original was left on one of the sides. The other side, on a smaller adjacent wall, was still intact.
It was unclear exactly how most of the mural came to be erased. Monica Paul, the president of the North Texas FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee, said on Monday that FIFA, the governing body of international soccer, had not made the decision to paint over the wall. She also added that the mural was not being painted over for an advertisement.
The local organizing committee and its partners had helped identify possible locations for an arts project to celebrate the tournament. The committee’s goal, Ms. Paul said, was for “Dallas artists to participate, bring their energy, their passion, have a local impact in the arts space through the World Cup.”
Ultimately, the building with the whale mural was settled on as the site for the World Cup project, she said. The endeavor also involved working with Downtown Dallas, Inc., a nonprofit, and the city’s office of arts and culture. But what happened next appears to be in question.
“At this time, we know that there have been some missteps along the way,” she said.
The organizing committee had not been in contact with Wyland before the mural was painted over but said it hopes to speak with him.
It was unclear whether Downtown Dallas, Inc., and the city’s office of arts and culture, had reached out to Wyland or his foundation.
“A fifth grader can figure out that it’s probably not good to paint over a work of art that the community loves,” Wyland said.
The mural captured the attention of Reddit and X users who expressed disdain over its removal. Kacey Musgraves, the country singer from Texas, wrote on Instagram last week that she was “sad” about its erasure.
“We suck the soul out of everything,” she wrote.
Jennifer Scripps, the president and chief executive of Downtown Dallas, Inc., said in a statement that the nonprofit did not commission, fund or manage the World Cup project.
“We were part of early discussions regarding the wall in question, verified it was not part of the City of Dallas public art collection, and introduced the North Texas FIFA World Cup Host Committee with the building owners,” Ms. Scripps said.
The city’s office of arts and culture, and Slate Asset Management, which owns the building, did not respond to a request for comment.
Details about what the new project will entail, which local artist will create it and how much the artist will be paid have not been disclosed.
In downtown Dallas on Monday afternoon, there was no one working outside the building. Three large forklift trucks were parked beside the freshly painted blue wall. On the wall adjacent to the one that was largely painted over, some of the original whales that had been painted by Wyland were still visible.
That wall will not be painted over, according to North Texas FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee. But for Wyland, that is little comfort.
The turmoil over the mural comes as cities across the nation, as well as those in co-hosts Mexico and Canada, make their final preparations to host the World Cup, which begins June 11.
With nine matches, including a semifinal, North Texas will host the most games of any host city. The matches will be played in Arlington, about 20 miles west of downtown Dallas, at the home of the Dallas Cowboys.
As Wyland and his foundation figure out what to do next, the artist is almost certain of one thing: The whales, as they were, won’t return.
“That was a monumental task,” Wyland said of the original mural. “I was a lot younger artist back then, and it took a lot of effort.”
Jesus Jiménez is a Times reporter covering North Texas. He is based in Dallas.
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