Kent Twitchell
While studying at Cal State LA in 1971, Kent Twitchell painted his first mural—a portrait of Steve McQueen—on the side of a friend’s home. Over the course of the next 50 years, Twitchell would go on to paint many murals around Southern California. His iconic murals include the Bride and Groom on Broadway, the downtown Ed Ruscha Monument and the opposing portraits of Lita Albuquerque and Jim Morphesis at the 7th street freeway underpass downtown.
Perhaps Twitchell’s most memorable mural, the Freeway Lady (1974-1986), depicts an elderly woman with piercing blue eyes and a colorful afghan trailing behind her. Often referred to as “LA’s Grandmother,” this mural served as an anchoring and collective memory for many Angelenos. In 1986, the mural was illegally painted over with an advertisement to sell future advertisements, but was resurrected at LA Valley College nearly 30 years later. The elimination of the Freeway Lady inspired the founding of the Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles, which was established to protect, preserve, and restore LA’s murals.