US congress introduces bill to protect public art in federal buildings targeted by Trump administration

Two Democratic members of the Congressional Arts Caucus, Dina Titus (Nevada) and Lloyd Doggett (Texas), introduced the Protecting Resources and Ensuring Stewardship of Enduring Records of Visual Expression (Preserve) Act on July 14 to safeguard federally commissioned art when federal buildings are sold or disposed of. The bill would require the General Services Administration (GSA) to convene an expert committee to plan protections and ensure public access to artworks, including by relocating or leasing them, with specific attention to New Deal-era murals from Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1930s programs. The legislation responds to the Trump administration’s plans, early in Donald Trump’s second term, to dispose of buildings including Washington, DC’s Wilbur J. Cohen Federal Building, which contains major New Deal murals by artists such as Philip Guston, Ben Shahn, Seymour Fogel, Emma Lou Davis, Henry Kreis, and Ethel and Jenne Magafan. Preservation groups including the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Living New Deal, Hands Off the Arts, and Preservation Action endorsed the bill, citing concerns that embedded works like frescoes could be damaged or destroyed if buildings change hands.

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