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In the center of this panel from the 'Pan American Unity Mural' by renowned Mexican painter Diego Rivera stands John Brown (1800-1859), an abolitionist who fought to end slavery in the U.S. Surrounding John Brown and standing under Rivera's 'Tree of Liberty' are the founders of the Independence Movements of both Anglo and Latin America. Included are Simon Bolivar ("The Liberator" and emancipator of slaves in Venezuela), Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla (Mexican priest and revolutionary regarded as the father of Mexican independence), Jose Maria Morelos y Pavon (Mexican priest, military leader and statesman who fought for Mexican independence), George Washington (a leader of the American revolution and first President of the U.S.), Thomas Jefferson (author of Declaration of Independence and 3rd President of the U.S.) and, Abraham Lincoln (16th U.S. President and emancipator of the slaves).

Rivera's symbolism in the panel reflects his theme of Pan American Unity with John Brown exhorting the crowd to revolt against slavery. Jefferson holds a document on which his famous words are written...."The Tree of Liberty needs to be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." Lincoln holds the Gettysburg Address rededicating a nation divided to the principles of representative union..."a government of the people, by the people and for the people". At the moment Rivera was painting this mural in 1940, liberty was being seriously threatened by events in Europe and elsewhere.

In the lower right of this panel Rivera painted a Tehuantepec sculptress who represents a matriarchal society (the 'Zapotec' culture) in southern Mexico in which women do the creative work. Rivera's wife, Frida Kahlo, adopted Tehuana traditional dress as a kind of solidarity with these women (see www.flickr.com/photos/greatestpaka/6924465829/in/photostream ).

Diego Rivera's 'Pan American Unity Mural' can be seen today at the Diego Rivera Theater on the campus of the City College of San Francisco in San Francisco, California (see map).

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In this panel from the 1940 'Pan American Unity Mural' the artist, Diego Rivera, shows himself (with his back to us) as a fresco painter. Working in the foreground are contemporary Mexican artists and craftsmen: a fresco plasterer, a potter, a woodcarver, a tinsmith, a weaver and basket makers.

This magnificent 1800 square foot mural can be seen in San Francisco at the City College of San Francisco. Remarkably, its colors are as vibrant and fresh as the day it was originally painted 72 years ago.

Henry Ford (1863-1947), Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931) and, Albert Pinkham Ryder (1847-1917) are depicted at the top of this panel from the 'Pan American Unity Mural' painted by Diego Rivera in 1940. Ford, an inventor and industrialist, is shown holding a Model A and B Ford V-8 fuel pump. Behind him and to his right is the auto assembly line.....an innovative method of manufacture that Ford developed and which revolutionized American society. Edison is pictured with his inventions, the light bulb and phonograph. On the right the American artist Ryder is seen with a painting of a seascape in his typical style. Rivera regarded Ryder as a true American original in that he sought inspiration in his native New England.

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A panel depicting anti-fascism in America from the 'Pan American Unity Mural' painted by famed muralist Diego Rivera in 1940. Joseph Stalin (1879-1953), Adolf Hitler (1889-1945), and Benito Mussolini (1883-1945) are shown in the upper left as a trinity of tyrants emerging in a gaseous tree-like shape and surrounded by scenes from anti-fascist films. These three historical figures, shown here as allies, signed a Non-Agression Pact in 1939. Stalin holds a knife and bloody ice ax to echo a hammer and sickle emblem; the ax is a reference to Stalin's responsibility in the assassination of Leon Trotsky (Mexico, August, 1940). Trotsky was Rivera's estranged friend and an exiled communist. Below Stalin the initials 'G.P.U.' (the Soviet secret police) and the word 'Gestapo' (the Nazi secret police) form a cross, as if to show a common purpose. In the lower left, a World War I soldier in a gas mask lies fallen across barbed wire.

American comic actor Jack Oakie (1903-1978) is pictured (at the top and to the right of Stalin, Hitler and Mussolini) as "Benzini Napaloni, Dictator of Bacteria", a satire of Mussolini in Charlie Chaplin's 1940 film 'The Great Dictator'. Directly below that is a scene showing Nazi storm troopers ('Brown Shirts') stoning a protestor.

Rivera pictured, just below the 'trio of tyrants', the image of Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977) appearing as 'The Great Dictator' in which he portrayed both 'Adenoid Hinkle' (a satire of Hitler) and a Jewish barber (see the figures to the right of the Nazi storm troopers). Chaplin appears in this panel several times.

The 1800 square foot 'Pan American Unity Mural' painted by famed Mexican muralist Diego Rivera in 1940 is a national treasure. It was commissioned by architect Timothy Pflueger to be created during the 1940 Golden Gate International Exposition on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay. The Exposition was held to celebrate the openings of the Oakland Bay and Golden Gate bridges, which were finished in 1936 and 1937 respectively. Pflueger, who designed several of City College of San Francisco’s original buildings, wanted visitors to the Exposition to witness "art in action."

Rivera and his assistants began the mural in June when the Exposition opened, and finished it in December 1940, two months after the Exposition closed. More than 30,000 people came to see the finished mural before it was taken apart, crated, and temporarily stored on Treasure Island. Originally, the mural was to be installed in a new library Pflueger designed for City College of San Francisco, but those plans were halted due to the United States’ entry into World War II. The library was never built, and the mural was stored in a shed on the College campus for 20 years. It wasn’t until 1961, four years after Rivera’s death, that Milton Pflueger, Timothy’s brother, approached the San Francisco School Board and suggested the mural be displayed in the then-new performing arts theater at City College, that the mural finally found a home. The theater was renamed for Rivera in 1993.

See the left side of this mural at www.flickr.com/photos/greatestpaka/6778349934/in/photostream