Marine artist Robert Wyland filed a federal lawsuit on Monday against FIFA and several related parties, alleging his iconic 1999 whale mural in downtown Dallas was destroyed without his permission to make way for World Cup promotions.
The suit seeks at least $25 million in damages and claims violations of the Visual Artists Rights Act, which shields certain works of recognized stature from destruction or modification without the artist’s consent. At issue is the large-scale “Ocean Life,” also known as Whaling Wall 82, which Wyland painted on the side of a building at 505 N. Akard St, as previously reported on by The Dallas Express.
The approximately 17,000-square-foot mural, featuring life-sized whales, dolphins, and other marine life, had been a fixture of the Dallas landscape for more than 25 years. Crews painted over it last month as the city prepared to host matches for the FIFA World Cup, which begins later this month.
“When a recognized public artwork, a long-standing conservation message, and a familiar Dallas landmark can all be erased without warning because someone else wanted the wall for another purpose, something is wrong,” Wyland said in a statement, NBC 5 DFW reported. “The people of Dallas lived with this mural. They drove past it, photographed it, remembered it, and made it part of the city’s identity. Standing up for that is a responsibility. The mural is gone, but the message does not have to be.”
The lawsuit names as defendants FIFA, FIFA (Americas) Inc., FWC2026 US Inc., 3PZ Property Company LLC, and Slate Asset Management. It accuses the parties of hastily covering the mural in blue paint without contacting Wyland.
“In their zeal to capitalize on the international attention on Dallas during the FIFA World Cup, Defendants hastily and irrevocably destroyed a civic landmark,” the lawsuit said, per Reuters. “Though FIFA claims they were working to develop art for the host city, in truth, they defaced a historic fixture of the host city.”
A spokesperson for the building owner, Slate Asset Management, previously said the World Cup committee indicated that a local artist would create a new installation and that Wyland had been informed of the plans. Wyland disputes that account, saying he received no notice before the work was covered.
The case, Wyland v. Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), was filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas under case number 3:26-cv-01794. Wyland is represented by Monica Latin and Andrea Perez of Carrington Coleman Sloman & Blumenthal LLP in Dallas.
Wyland, known for his “Whaling Wall” series of more than 100 large ocean-themed murals worldwide, created the Dallas piece to raise awareness about marine conservation. He received a key to the city when it was completed.
“This mural was created as a message of hope, conservation, and respect for our oceans. It was a gift to the people of Dallas and a reminder that protecting our oceans is a responsibility we all share,” Wyland said in an earlier statement, per CBS. “To see an important public artwork with that kind of meaning treated as disposable is deeply painful.”
Wyland has said any financial recovery from the suit would support public art, ocean conservation, and environmental education through his foundation.
“This should have been an opportunity to show the world that global sports, public art, and environmental stewardship can stand together,” he said. “Instead, a landmark was painted over. We want to do our part to make sure that what happened here does not become the standard for how public art is treated in cities across America.”
