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UC Berkeley to loan Diego Rivera fresco to SFMOMA exhibit

Restoration of the painting began last week, and the fresco will be transported to SFMOMA today, March 22. The exhibit will provide an in-depth presentation of Rivera’s work in Mexico and the U.S. from the early 1920s through the early 1940s.

By Public Affairs

Diego Rivera Fresco
This Diego Rivera fresco located in UC Berkeley's Stern Hall will be loaned to the SFMOMA for an art exhibit that begins this summer. (Photo by Jo Mackness)

March 22, 2022

Diego Rivera Fresco
This Diego Rivera fresco located in UC Berkeley's Stern Hall will be loaned to the SFMOMA for an art exhibit that begins this summer. (Photo by Jo Mackness)
Sign in dormitory
The fresco was painted at Rosalie Meyer Stern's estate in 1931 and depicts people working in the orchards while Stern's grandchildren enjoy the fruits of their labor. Upon Stern's passing, it was bequeathed to Berkeley and installed in Stern Hall, the campus’s first residence hall for women. (Photo by Tom Mucha)
People restoring a fresco
Last week teams from the museum, Atthowe Fine Art Services, and Site and Studio Conservation were on campus to restore and prepare the painting to be transported. (Photo by Tom Mucha)
Men moving objects near the fresco
Teams on site preparing the fresco to be transported. (Photo by Tom Mucha)
Workers helping to restore the fresco
(Photo by Tom Mucha)
Empty wall in Stern Hall where the Rivera fresco was previously located.
The fresco was taken out of the wall in Stern Hall Tuesday to be transported. (Photo by Jo Mackness)

UC Berkeley is loaning a fresco by prominent Mexican artist Diego Rivera that is currently displayed at Berkeley’s Stern Hall residence hall to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art for its upcoming exhibit, “Diego Rivera’s America.”

The fresco, Still Life and Blossoming Almond Trees, was painted at Rosalie Meyer Stern’s estate in 1931 and depicts people working in the orchards while Stern’s grandchildren enjoy the fruits of their labor. Upon Stern’s passing, it was bequeathed to Berkeley and installed in Stern Hall, the campus’s first residence hall for women.

“We are extraordinarily proud that it has a home on the campus and enriches the daily lives of the women who live in Stern Hall,” said Jo Mackness, assistant vice chancellor and CEO for the Division of Student Affairs.

Crane holding up the Diego fresco outside of the building.
A lifting crane parked near Foothill circle off of Hearst Avenue to lift the fresco on the west side of Stern Hall up and over the building. (Photo by Tom Mucha)
The Diego fresco being transported into a truck that will take it to the SFMOMA.
The fresco being transported into a truck that will take it to the SFMOMA. (Photo by Tom Mucha)
The Diego fresco makes it safely to the ground.
The painting makes it safely to the ground. (Photo by Tom Mucha)

Restoration of the painting began last week, and the fresco will be transported to SFMOMA today, March 22. The exhibit, open from July 16 through the end of 2022, will provide an in-depth presentation of Rivera’s work in Mexico and the U.S. from the early 1920s through the early 1940s.

While on loan, the Berkeley fresco will be the centerpiece of a section that examines the projects and social networks in San Francisco of Rivera and Frida Kahlo, another well-known 20th century Mexican artist.

The fresco is crucial to the success of SFMOMA’s project, said SFMOMA director Neal Benezra.

“We are delighted that we can support the museum and share this beautiful work of art with the community,” Mackness added.