Are Muralists Artists? Legally, It Varies

March 13, 2026

Credit: Diego Rivera, Still Life and Blossoming Almond Trees, California, available at Wikimedia Commons

By Walker Schulte Schneider

Murals, and the artists who paint them, are pillars of the art world. The story of art is one probably best told through muralists. Start at the beginning, for example: what are cave paintings if not murals? As forms of artistic expression multiplied and evolved, so too did murals. They became the main form of decoration for Egyptian tombs, Minoan palaces, and Roman villas. Fast forward to the Renaissance, when frescoes—paintings made directly onto wet plaster applied to walls and ceilings—became one of the era’s preferred mediums. Some of the most famous artworks from this period are murals: Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper, Michaelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, and Raphael’s The School of Athens. Then, in the early twentieth century, the Mexican Muralists—Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco, and David Alfaro Siqueiros—emerged, scandalizing and thrilling audiences by painting sweeping works of social commentary across the halls of power. Rivera’s mural of Still Life and Blossoming Almond Trees, first painted for a private patron now decorates walls of the all-female residence hall at the University of California. Most recently, street artists (as the name suggests) have become the latest champions of muralism: think of Banksy, Keith Haring, Lady Pink, and the Mujeres Muralistas—to name a few. And yet muralists have not been uniformly granted the same legal protections enjoyed by their fellow  artists who work on canvas, paper, or in stone.

It was not until 2020 that muralists gained some of the same federal legal protections enjoyed by other artists, when the Second Circuit legally confirmed that muralists are artists entitled to moral rights under the federal Visual Artists Rights Act (“VARA”).^[1] This decision affirmed that the rights afforded to other visual artists—i.e., the right of attribution (the right of an artist to be recognized as the author of their work) and the right of integrity (the right of an artist to prevent any deforming, mutilation, or destruction of their work)—also extend to muralists and their murals.^[2]

However, muralists continue to face unequal treatment in other corners of the law. Specifically, some states legally consider muralists to be “contractors” and, as a result, subject them to a range of regulations and requirements not applicable to other artists.

Consider the case of California. Over the past few years, the state’s $1.2 billion Clean California initiative helped fund beautification efforts across the state, including public contracts for murals painted on underpasses and other public structures.^[3] However, in July 2023, the California Contractors State License Board (“CSLB”) began issuing public notices to municipalities informing them that muralists fell under the definition of “contractor” as stated in California’s Business and Professions Code.^[4] This meant that muralists were required to hold a C-33 commercial license in order to charge more than $1,000 to paint on public or private spaces.^[5] Obtaining a C-33 license requires contractors to pass three exams, undergo a multi-year apprenticeship, and buy a contractor bond.^[6] Moreover, any individual, classified as a contractor, who performs the work without a C-33 license commits a misdemeanor under California criminal law.^[7]

As a result, work on most publicly contracted murals ground to a halt. For example, Sacramento immediately stopped hiring muralists and paused an upcoming project.^[8] Palo Alto, Milpitas, and Stockton also halted the implementation of long-planned mural projects.^[9]

Critics were quick to point out that the July 2023 letter’s interpretation was contrary to the longstanding understanding and practice in California that muralists were exempt from the definition of contractor.^[10] Moreover, considering muralists to be contractors contradicts the California Arts Preservation Act (“CAPA”), which was the first state law to recognize artists’ moral rights (a decade before the enactment of VARA), and distinguishes muralists from commercial wall painters, who paint under a work-for-hire arrangement and thus are not afforded moral rights.^[11]

In May 2025, a coalition led by state legislators, the California Arts Advocates, and the League of California Cities began pushing to enact a law expressly exempting muralists from the definition of contractor under California’s Business and Professions Code. The law speedily passed through the state legislature with minimal resistance and was signed by Governor Gavin Newsom on October 13, 2025. The new provision—Section 7050—went into effect on January 1, 2026.^[12] Section 7050 exempts muralists as well as those who “appl[y], execute[], restore[], or conserve[], a mural pursuant to an agreement with a person who could legally authorize the work,” but explicitly states that it does not cover “painted wall signs” (likely to align with CAPA’s stance that there are no moral rights in artwork created for advertisements).^[13]

California now follows other states which have expressly determined that muralists are not contractors under the state’s business code. For example, in Oregon, any individual who does “[w]ork … creating objects, which exist exclusively for aesthetic reasons and have no other function, for example, murals [or] sculptures” is exempted from the state’s contractor requirements.^[14] Washington also explicitly exempts “commissioned artwork and commissioned mural painting” from its contractor requirements.^[15]

Still some states take the opposite approach. In Alabama, for example, “[a]ny person, firm, or corporation accepting orders or contracts for doing any work on or in any building or structure requiring the use of paint … shall be deemed a contractor.”^[16]

Most states, however, leave the question open-ended. In many of these jurisdictions, whether muralists are considered contractors often depends on if a mural falls within the definition of other key terms in the state’s contractor statute. For example, in Florida, a contractor is defined as a “person who, for compensation, undertakes to … improve any building or structure.”^[17] Are murals improvements? Likely yes, but it’s not certain. In New York and the District of Columbia, legislation is rather vague, whether muralists are considered contractors is dependent on if a mural is considered an “alteration” and if the agreement to paint the mural was a “construction contract.”^[18]  This ambiguity could be intentional; the state legislatures might have wanted to afford deference to local laws, which may also regulate whether a muralist is a contractor.

One thing, however, is clear: as the recent developments in California show, in many jurisdictions, muralists are still not afforded the full legal rights and protections enjoyed by other artists because they might be considered “contractors” and subject to a host of additional requirements. Without guaranteed exemptions from contractor regulations, muralists will be less likely to create art—depriving states of potential beauty and economic activity.^[19] For these reasons, states should reevaluate their definition of “contractor.” They would do well to ensure that muralists are legally treated as the artists they are.

About the Author:

Walker Schulte Schneider is an associate at WilmerHale, where his practice focuses on complex litigation matters and government/internal investigations, with a particular emphasis on matters relating to art law. Walker received his law degree from New York University School of Law. He holds an MPhil in history from the University of Cambridge and an AB from Dartmouth College.

Select References

1. Castillo v. G&M Realty L.P., 950 F.3d 155, 173 (2d Cir. 2020), as amended (Feb. 21, 2020), cert. denied, 592 U.S. 1, 27 (U.S. Oct. 5, 2020) (No. 20-66); see also 17 U.S.C. § 106A. ↑
2. Moral rights are not afforded to artists who create under a work-for-hire arrangement. See 17 U.S.C. § 101; Cal. Civ. Code § 987(b)(7). ↑
3. State of the Art(s): Clean California Continues to Transform Golden State Communities Through Local Artwork, CA.gov (Aug. 1, 2024), https://dot.ca.gov/news-releases/news-release-2024-029. ↑
4. Letter from Executive Office, CSLB, to Office of the Registrar, City of Sacramento, Re: Contractor License Requirements for Creation and Installation of Artistic Works (July 17, 2023), https://www.cslb.ca.gov/Resources/GuidesAndPublications/2023/Artistic_Works_Installation_License_Requirements.pdf; Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 7026. ↑
5. Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 7048(a). ↑
6. Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 7065 et seq. ↑
7. Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 7028. ↑
8. Claudette Stefanian, New enforcement of decades-old California law puts Sacramento mural work on hold, CBS News (May 5, 2025), https://www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/news/california-muralist-licensed-contractor-law-enforcement/. ↑
9. SB 456 – Contractors Exemptions: Muralists, California for the Arts (May 8, 2025), https://www.caforthearts.org/campaigns/sb-456-save-california-murals. ↑
10. SB 456 – Contractors Exemptions: Muralists, California for the Arts (May 8, 2025), https://www.caforthearts.org/campaigns/sb-456-save-california-murals. ↑
11. Cal. Civ. Code § 987(b)(2), (7). CAPA protects the rights of artists who create “fine art,” which includes original paintings but not work prepared under contract for “commercial use,” defined as “fine art created under a work-for-hire arrangement for use in advertising, magazines, newspapers, or other print and electronic media”—i.e., not murals. In 2008, muralist Kent Twitchell successfully settled a lawsuit under both CAPA and VARA against the U.S. government (as well as other defendants) for painting over his mural in downtown Los Angeles. See Diana Haithman, Artist Kent Twitchell settles suit over disappearing mural, LA Times (May 1, 2008), https://www.latimes.com/la-et-twitchell1-2008may01-story.html. ↑
12. Governor Newsom Signs California Arts Advocates Sponsored Legislation, California Arts Advocates (Oct. 13, 2025), https://www.caartsadvocates.org/news/governor-newsom-signs-california-arts-advocates-sponsored-legislation. ↑
13. Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 7050. ↑
14. OAR 812-002-0780. ↑
15. WAC § 296-200A-016. ↑
16. Code of Ala. § 40-12-84. ↑
17. Fla. Stat. § 489.105. ↑
18. NY CLS Gen. Bus. § 756; D.C. Code §§ 27A-101, 27A-201. ↑
19. Julianne Culey, The economics of public art, The Reynolds Center for Business Journalism (June 3, 2025), https://businessjournalism.org/2mintip/public-art/#:~:text=A%20mural%20on%20the%20side,scene,%20which%20includes%20public%20art. ↑