When soccer fans converge on Dallas this month for World Cup games, the aesthetically inclined ones will encounter a city home to art museums, galleries, and public art. And yet, the city will be missing a major and longstanding public artwork, after conservationist artist’s beloved mural was painted over in May.
Florida-based artist Robert Wyland has filed a $25 million federal lawsuit against FIFA and the owners of the building where his mural had appeared for a quarter-century, who, he says, painted over Ocean Life (1999), one of a hundred murals he painted around the world to raise consciousness about marine pollution and conservation efforts. The eight-story-high, 17,000-square-foot mural showed endangered humpback whales and dolphins and other marine life.
The suit, filed on June 1 in the District Court’s Dallas division, claims that the destruction of the mural, designated as Whaling Wall 82, violates the artist’s rights under the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 (VARA). It names as defendants FIFA, the Canadian company Slate Asset Management, which owns the building at 505 N Akard Street where the mural was created, and 3PZ Property Company, which it names as a Slate subsidiary or affiliate and claims owns the building.
Dallas is one of sixteen US cities hosting World Cup soccer matches, which will also take place in Canada and Mexico. Games begin June 11, with Mexico facing South Africa.
According to a local Fox affiliate, the city of Dallas claims that Wyland had been asked for permission to paint over the mural, a contention that the artist disagrees with. “That’s a lie with a capital L,” Wyland told Fox. In May, the artist told ARTnews, “They picked the wrong artist. It’s protected under VARA if anything is.”
A month before games were due to start, crews painted over the mural, and the North Texas FWC Organizing Committee issued a statement saying that a new project there would “celebrate and build excitement for the upcoming World Cup 2026.” The larger of the two adjoining walls where the mural had appeared had been painted over in blue by mid May. A North Texas FWC Organizing Committee spokesperson told ARTnews at the time that a “portion” of the mural would be “preserved” as a “tribute.”
In the complaint, Wyland’s attorneys, Dallas firm Carrington, Coleman, Sloman & Blumenthal, allege that FIFA, Slate and 3PZ authorized the destruction of the lion’s share of the mural without ever contacting the artist.” They said further, “The right of integrity grants Wyland the ability to prevent the destruction of any of his works of recognized stature, and to prevent any intentional distortion, mutilation, or other modification of his works of that would be prejudicial to his honor or reputation… The right of integrity can only be waived by Wyland if he has signed a written instrument expressly stating such.”
The suit points out that Dallas mayor Ron Kirk presented the artist with a key to the city, and famed Dallas Cowboys running back Herschel Walker was present at the dedication of the piece. The artist painted the mural singlehandedly, by hand, says the complaint, over many weeks, without preparatory sketches. Dallas community leaders including retail giant JCPenney covered much of the cost of the mural, says the complaint, with Wyland himself footing the bill for the balance not covered by donations.
Further arguing for his bona fides, Wyland’s attorneys point out that the artist operates seven brick-and-mortar galleries nationwide, and that he established a foundation in 1993 to promote awareness of marine pollution and conservation issues.
FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The North Texas FWC Organizing Committee declined to comment. Slate, for its part, said through a spokesperson that “Slate was approached by Dallas Downtown Inc. and the North Texas FIFA World Cup organizing committee in March 2026 with a request to donate the wall at 505 N Akard for a new public art installation to be completed by a local Dallas artist. Slate is not being compensated in any way for the use of the wall space and was told by the local groups that Mr. Wyland had been notified.”
