Whale “conservationist” Robert Wyland is suing the world football association for failing to “conserve” one of his whaling murals.
Wyland, who once painted one of his iconic whaling walls along the Portland, Maine waterfront, believes his public artwork is, like the whales, protected by federal law.
Wyland’s mural in Dallas stood for nearly three decades before workers began painting over it last month to promote the World Cup.
He has filed a $25 million lawsuit against Federation International Football Association officials, saying they illegally painted over his work to promote the city’s 2026 matches.
Wyland claims World Cop organizers, the building’s owner and management company painted over his mural without his consent or notifying him.
He said their actions violates a 1990 federal law passed to protect visual artists from destruction of publicly displayed works.
The area’s World Cup organizing committee said that in place of Wyland’s mural, new artwork is planned “that captures this current historical moment and reflects the energy, unity, and global spirit surrounding the World Cup 2026,” according to The Associated Press.
Wyland 23 years ago painted the massive “Whales off the Coast of Maine” mural on the Maine State Pier (Casco Bay Lines terminal building) in Portland.
The painting, 950 feet long by 25 feet high was Wyland’s 36th whaling wall.
The mural stretches 950 feet long and is now considered a tourist attraction of the Portland waterfront.
The Portland piece was the kickoff to his ambitious East Coast Tour.Wyland has now painted 100 whaling walls across the world.
