Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles

An elderly woman standing with a granny-squared afghan wrapped around her. The model was Lillian Bronson, a character actress who resembled two of the artist's great-grandmothers. In 1981 a new structure built next door to the hotel obscured the mural's bottom half. in 1986 the mural was painted over, without informing the artist, in order to sell the space for advertising. Citing California Art Preservation Act (passed in 1980), Twitchell sued the building's owner. In March, 1992, a settlement was reached, providing $125,000 for restoration of the mural. The re-born version includes a three dimensional fiberglass extension of the afghan above the roof, as well as an added segment on the adjoining wall down to the ground. Photo © Peter Mackertich.