Artist sues for $25 million after Dallas whale mural painted over for World Cup
The artist who created the whale mural in Downtown Dallas has filed a $25 million lawsuit after his famous work was "destroyed."
Iconic Downtown Dallas mural repainted for FIFA World Cup promotion
Wyland Whale Wall 82, completed in 1999, was painted over for a FIFA World Cup advertisement. Robert Wyland's mural, titled "Ocean Life," spanned two sides of the Texas Utilities Building at 505 N. Akard St. It featured vivid depictions of whales and dolphins swimming across 164‑by‑82‑foot panels.
Many Dallas residents weren't happy when the longtime part of the downtown skyline vanished.
"This mural was created as a message of hope, conservation, and respect for our oceans. It was a gift to the people of Dallas and a reminder that protecting our oceans is a responsibility we all share. To see an important public artwork with that kind of meaning treated as disposable is deeply painful," Wyland said in a previous statement.
Wyland's globally recognized "Whaling Wall" series — a collection of more than 100 large‑scale ocean murals created around the world to promote marine conservation. According to Wyland, the Dallas mural was one of 103 spanning cities from Laguna Beach, California, to Havana, Cuba.
The lawsuit names FIFA, FIFA (Americas), Inc., FWC2026 US, Inc., 3PZ Property Company, LLC and Slate Asset Management as defendants. The lawsuit seeks "to vindicate Wyland's rights under the Visual Artists Rights Act, a federal law protecting certain works of visual art from destruction, mutilation, or modification without the artist's written approval."
The lawsuit also alleges that the mural was destroyed without proper notice, consultation, or consent. Wyland says he was never notified before his mural was largely covered in blue paint last month.
"A landmark was painted over," artist says
"I mean, it's not right on any level," Wyland previously told CBS News Texas. "They destroyed one of the murals that is iconic to the city of Dallas."
The FIFA World Cup organizing committee previously told CBS News Texas it wanted to create a mural by a Dallas artist that reflected "the energy, unity, and global spirit surrounding the World Cup."
Downtown Dallas Inc. confirmed it initiated conversations with FIFA about using the wall but said it did not commission, fund or manage the project.
A spokesperson for the building owner told CBS News Texas that Wyland was informed about the mural project in March. Wyland disputes that claim.
Wyland has said that if the lawsuit results in a recovery, he intends to put those resources "back into the work that gave rise to the mural in the first place: public art, ocean and waterway conservation, and environmental education through the Wyland Foundation."
"This should have been an opportunity to show the world that global sports, public art, and environmental stewardship can stand together," Wyland said in a statement. "Instead, a landmark was painted over. We want to do our part to make sure that what happened here does not become the standard for how public art is treated in cities across America."
