During 1971 early Los Angeles street artist Kent Twitchell painted his first realistic mural. He called it "Steve McQueen Monument" and
pictures of it began appearing in newspapers everywhere, a two-story cool blue phantom coming out of a house a few blocks west (12th Street and Union Avenue) of Downtown Los Angeles.
The mural stood as a landmark for nearly 30 years, possibly the oldest extant LA Mural of the movement that influenced similar movements throughout the world. Then it was mysteriously painted out. Rumor was that a family from a different country had moved into the house. They did not speak English and did not realize its cultural importance to the City. Eight years later Graduate Art History major Fernando Cervantes, working on a paper about the art of Kent Twitchell, took it upon himself to go to the house and knock on the door. He discovered that yes, there were language issues but the new owners very much wanted the mural restored. Workers had painted it out by accident.
Twitchell decided this was the ideal time to restore his landmark monument, the 30th year after his favorite actor's death. He intends to work with LA's "Fresco School" beginning the first week of November to bring the Steve McQueen Monument back in all its glory.
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