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Kent Twitchell (born 1942, Lansing, Michigan) is an American muralist who is most active in Los Angeles. He is most famous for his larger-than-life photorealist mural portraits, often of celebrities and artists.

Twitchell joined the United States Air Force and was stationed in London, where he served as an illustrator.

Upon his discharge, he studied art at East Los Angeles College (AA, 1968), California State University, Los Angeles (BA, 1972), and the Otis College of Art and Design (MFA, 1977). He was active in the creation of the Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles and served on its advisory board.

In 1992 he won a major victory for the cause of legal protection of murals as public art when a court awarded him damages for the destruction of his mural The Freeway Lady. Shortly after the 1994 Northridge earthquake, when his studio was destroyed, Twitchell and his family moved to northern California.

In 2008 he settled a lawsuit against the U.S. Government and 12 other defendants for painting over his 70-foot tall landmark mural of Edward Ruscha, an important Los Angeles-based Pop artist. The settlement amount – $1.1 million – is believed to be the largest settlement ever under the seldom-invoked Federal Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA) or the California Art Preservation Act (CAPA). VARA and CAPA forbid desecration, alteration, or destruction of certain public works of art without prior notice to the artist to allow for removal. The U.S. Government is contributing $250,000 to the settlement amount. William Brutocao, with the intellectual property law firm Sheldon Mak Rose & Anderson PC, served as Mr. Twitchell’s lead trial attorney in this complex and legally-challenging case. “This settlement sets an important precedent which will benefit other artists,” said Mr. Twitchell. “This resolution makes it clear that when it comes to public art, you have to respect the artist’s rights, or incur significant liability.”

Well-known works

Title	Year	Location	Status
Murals
Bride and Groom	1972–1976	Victor Clothing Company (exterior facing northeast) 240 South Broadway, Los Angeles, California (between 2nd and 3rd streets)	extant
Ed Ruscha Monument	1978–1987	Job Corps Center, exterior, 1031 South Hill St., Los Angeles, California (between 11th St. and Olympic Boulevard)	Destroyed without authorization (painted over completely) on 02 June, 2006[1]
The Freeway Lady	1974	Angeles Prince Hotel (exterior), 1255 West Temple Street, Los Angeles, California (visible from the Hollywood Freeway)	painted over in 1987, then relocated to the exterior of the Viva Art Gallery, 13261 Moorpark Street, Sherman Oaks, California
Harbor Freeway Overture	1991–1993	Citicorp Plaza parking structure (exterior), 8th Street and the Harbor Freeway (110), Los Angeles, California	extant
Holy Trinity with Virgin	1978	Otis College of Art and Design (exterior) 2401 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California (facing Carondelet, west side of campus)	extant
Julius Erving (Dr. J)	1989	Ridge Avenue at Green Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	extant
L.A. Marathon Mural	1990	Northbound side of the San Diego Freeway (405), Inglewood, California, just past Century Boulevard; relocated and restored in late 2006 to southbound side of 5 Freeway just past Stadium Way exit	extant
Leaf	1981	1566 Ridge Crest Way, Monterey Park, California (near Monterey Pass Road)	extant
111th Street Jesus	1984	Tiger Liquor Store (exterior), corner of Vermont Avenue at 111th Streets, Los Angeles, California	extant
Seventh Street Altarpiece	1983–1984	Harbor Freeway (110), Los Angeles, California (both sides at 7th St. underpass)	extant
Six Los Angeles Artists	1979	Employment Development Department (exterior rear), 1220 Engracia Avenue, Torrance, California	extant
Steve McQueen Monument	1971	Union Street near 12th Street (exterior), Los Angeles, California	found in September 2006 to be painted over completely, date unknown
Strother Martin Monument	1972	5200 Fountain Avenue at Kingsley Drive (exterior of southwest corner), Los Angeles, California	extant
The Watchers	1984	Barnsdall Park Junior Arts Center (exterior), 4814 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, California	extant
The Word [2]	1989–1990	Biola University Science Building (exterior), 13800 Biola Avenue, La Mirada, California	extant

External links

Kent Twitchell at KentTwitchell.com

Kent Twitchell at lamurals.org
Kent Twitchell at LAartscene.org
Kent Twitchell: Portrait of a Muralist at IMDb

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 In 1992 he won a major victory for the cause of legal protection of murals as public art when a court awarded him damages for the destruction of his mural ''The Freeway Lady''. Shortly after the 1994 [[Northridge earthquake]], when his studio was destroyed, Twitchell and his family moved to northern California.
+In 2008 he settled a lawsuit against the U.S. Government and 12 other defendants for painting over his 70-foot tall landmark mural of [[Edward Ruscha]], an important Los Angeles-based Pop artist. The settlement amount – $1.1 million – is believed to be the largest settlement ever under the seldom-invoked Federal Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA) or the California Art Preservation Act (CAPA). VARA and CAPA forbid desecration, alteration, or destruction of certain public works of art without prior notice to the artist to allow for removal. The U.S. Government is contributing $250,000 to the settlement amount. William Brutocao, with the intellectual property law firm Sheldon Mak Rose & Anderson PC, served as Mr. Twitchell’s lead trial attorney in this complex and legally-challenging case. “This settlement sets an important precedent which will benefit other artists,” said Mr. Twitchell. “This resolution makes it clear that when it comes to public art, you have to respect the artist’s rights, or incur significant liability.”
 ==Well-known works==