Congress proposes legislation to safeguard New Deal murals in threatened D.C. building
Lawmakers introduced the PRESERVE Act to compel the GSA to protect the Ben Shahn and Seymour Fogel frescoes inside the Wilbur J. Cohen Building, which faces sale or demolition.
A visitor in September 2025 discovered that the Wilbur J. Cohen Building, a Washington, D.C. federal office constructed between 1939 and 1940, was locked to the public as it awaits possible sale or demolition. The building, once home to the Social Security Board, wartime agencies, and later Voice of America, contains fresco murals by New Deal artists Ben Shahn and Seymour Fogel that are embedded directly into the walls.
After the building was earmarked for disposal during the second term of Donald Trump, a coalition of media, activists, and legislators raised concerns about the fate of the artworks. On July 14, 2026, Representatives Dina Titus and Lloyd Doggett introduced the PRESERVE Act, mandating the General Services Administration to identify and preserve artworks when disposing of federal property, potentially moving them to museums.
However, the fresco technique makes relocation extremely challenging. The GSA estimates that the building requires about half a billion dollars in repairs and renovation.
Why it matters
The bill seeks to protect irreplaceable public art that records American history from being lost in federal property sales.
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