A muralist who created a massive whale artwork covering a downtown Dallas building has filed a $25 million federal lawsuit against soccer’s global governing body and other parties, claiming they unlawfully covered his creation to make room for World Cup promotional materials.
The artist Wyland states he created the expansive mural by hand, spanning approximately 17,000 square feet across two walls of the structure.
The artwork remained in place for almost 30 years until crews started covering it with paint last month, sparking outrage from local residents who appreciated both its impressive size and ocean conservation message.
The regional World Cup organizing committee released a statement explaining that new artwork will replace Wyland’s mural “that captures this current historical moment and reflects the energy, unity, and global spirit surrounding the World Cup 2026.” The committee indicated that part of Wyland’s original work would remain intact.
Wyland submitted his lawsuit Monday in U.S District Court in Dallas, alleging that World Cup organizers, the building owner, and its management company covered his artwork without obtaining his permission or even informing him. He claims their conduct violated a 1990 federal statute designed to shield visual artists from having their publicly displayed creations destroyed.
Wyland demands at least $25 million in compensation. His legal filing states that world soccer’s governing body, FIFA, and other defendants “hastily and irrevocably destroyed a civic landmark” for World Cup promotion.
“Though FIFA claims they were working to develop art for the host city, in truth, they defaced an historic fixture of the host city,” the artist’s lawsuit says.
A FIFA spokesperson stated Tuesday that the federation “has no involvement in this whatsoever” and directed inquiries to the tournament’s local organizing committee.
A spokesperson for the North Texas FWC Organizing Committee refused to provide comment. The committee is not listed as a defendant in the legal action.
A spokesperson for Slate Asset Management, which oversees the building where the mural was covered, explained in a statement that local World Cup organizers approached Slate in March requesting donation of the mural space for “a new public art installation.”
“Slate is not being compensated in any way for the use of the wall space and was told by the local groups that Mr. Wyland had been notified,” the management company’s spokesperson said in an email.
Dallas will host more World Cup games than any other venue in the tournament shared between the U.S., Canada and Mexico, with nine matches scheduled at AT&T Stadium in suburban Arlington, home of the Dallas Cowboys.
Wyland’s Dallas mural, called “Whaling Wall 82,” was completed in 1999 and represents one of more than 100 comparable murals known as Whaling Walls the artist created worldwide to advocate for ocean life conservation.
An online petition opposing the mural’s removal and demanding protection for public artwork in Dallas has gathered more than 2,600 signatures.
Wyland’s lawsuit claims violations of the Visual Artists Rights Act, a 1990 federal statute that safeguards artwork of “recognized stature” regardless of who owns the physical piece.
A judge referenced that statute in 2018 when ordering a property owner to compensate a group of New York graffiti artists $6.7 million for whitewashing dozens of their spray-painted murals on buildings that previously housed a factory in Queens. The decision was confirmed on appeal.
