About the Artists

Some 50 artists competed for commissions; eventually, 26 artists and 19 assistants were hired for the Coit Tower mural project. Many of them were affiliated with what was then known as the California School of Fine Arts (CSFA), founded in 1871 as the San Francisco Art Association and today known as the San Francisco Art Institute, located then as now at 800 Chestnut St. Of the 26 main artists, there was one African American, one Asian and only four women. 

Bernard Zakheim, a Polish-born artist and political activist, along with renowned sculptor Ralph Stackpole, were the leaders of the artists, while Ukraine-born Victor Arnautoff, a CSFA instructor and experienced fresco artist, acted as the foreman on the project site.  All three were very influential in terms of the ultimate content of the works. Individual artists were assigned their specific subjects by a committee, and their wall space was similarly assigned — the larger walls going to the artists of greatest repute and public recognition. 

In addition to Arnautoff, the artists were overseen officer, Lt. Col. William Brady. He was hired at the behest of the local PWAP committee and city leaders, who feared that placing so many Bohemian artists of both genders in an isolated and confined space would lead to scandalous behavior and the occasional Bacchanalian orgy. Brady was installed in a small apartment on the second floor of the Tower, along with his wife Marie and their pet canaries. Brady was both tolerated by the artists as well as satirized in many of their works. He served as the live-in caretaker of the Tower for many years and was in reality very complimentary toward the artists and extremely protective of the artwork, to the point of having vandals arrested. 

Muralists