Detroit Industry

The Detroit Industry Murals are a series of frescoes by the Mexican artist Diego Rivera, consisting of twenty-seven panels depicting industry at the Ford Motor Company. Together they surround the Rivera Court in the Detroit Institute of Arts. Painted between 1932 and 1933, they were considered by Rivera to be his most successful work. On April 23, 2014, the Detroit Industry Murals were given National Historic Landmark Status.

The two main panels on the North and South walls depict laborers working at Ford Motor Company's River Rouge Plant. Other panels depict advances made in various scientific fields, such as medicine and new technology. The series of murals, taken as a whole, represents the idea that all actions and ideas are one.

In 1932 Wilhelm Valentiner commissioned Diego Rivera for an ambitious project. The plan for the project was to have Diego Rivera paint 27 fresco murals in the Detroit Institute of Art. They also wanted Rivera to incorporate the industry of Detroit as a whole, and not just the automobile industry. Rivera was perfect for the job. Before accepting Valentiers proposal Rivera had just completed a mural at the California School of Fine Arts (now the San Francisco Art Institute). The mural that he created there clearly displayed his painterly ability as well as his interest towards the modern industrial culture in the United States. In the agreement for the commission, the DIA was expected to pay all expenses towards materials while Rivera was expected to pay for his own assistance. At the time materials were incredibly expensive and the agreement that the DIA and Rivera settled on was considered a great deal. Edsel Ford contributed $20,000 to make the deal possible.

Excerpt from commission proposal to Diego Rivera from Wilhelm Valentiner.

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