In the 15 weeks since LA muralist The Art of Chase painted a large, colorful face on the side of Eric Robert’s mill downtown Greensboro, the piece of public art became iconic. A budding landmark. People posed for engagement shoots, music videos, and Instagram selfies, but now — somehow — the mural is gone.
Robert, who owns the historic mill, said he didn’t authorize anyone to paint over the face, adding that he was in Charlotte when it happened.

“This one was a surprise to me,” he said.

Regram: @lesliexwilliams @theartofchase Mural at the mill in Greensboro #noblankwalls#createyourcitypresents#greensboro#sogso

A photo posted by Create Your City (@createyrcty) on

And new urbanist Ryan Saunders, who orchestrated The Art of Chase‘s visit to Greensboro, said he has nothing to do with it. Saunders’ brainchild group Create Your City has facilitated several murals in the city, including one that is undisturbed on a different wall of Robert’s mill, with its “No Blank Walls” campaign.

A photo posted by Create Your City (@createyrcty) on Robert and Saunders declined to comment further on the mysterious disappearance of the face, though neither seemed happy about it.

A mural by the same artist remains on another portion of the mill.

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Duck Head apparel, the only current tenant of the former Daily Bread Flour Mill, couldn’t immediately be reached for comment. Part of the wall is painted a light yellow that resembles one of the colors in Duck Head’s logo, though it is not immediately clear whether there is a correlation. Robert declined to answer questions about Duck Head’s possible involvement in the removal of the mural. The mural was along the path of the southern leg of the future Downtown Greenway, but Cecelia Thompson — the executive director of Action Greensboro whose organization oversees the greenway efforts — said they don’t know anything about what happened and weren’t involved.

UPDATE (Aug. 7): A spokesperson for Duck Head declined to comment on the issue.

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