Selling America’s Sistine Chapel: The Trump Administration’s Effort to Sell Federal Buildings and the Artworks Trapped Inside

July 2, 2026

Seymour Fogel, Wealth of the Nation, 1942 (Photograph by Carol M. Highsmith, 2011)

By Sam Brady-Myerov

As America celebrates its 250th anniversary, and President Trump continues his efforts to reshape the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C. has become the center of national attention. Recent headlines have focused on the destruction of the White House East Wing to accommodate a 90,000-square-foot ballroom, plans for a 250-foot triumphal arch, naming disputes over the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, renovations to the Reflecting Pool, and a UFC fight held on White House grounds.^[1] But a quieter transformation has been simultaneously reshaping the aesthetic landscape of the capital: the accelerated disposition of federal property and the uncertain future of the historic artworks trapped inside.^[2]

One such building, the Wilbur J. Cohen Federal Building, is known by preservationists and art historians as the “Sistine Chapel of New Deal Art.”^[3] Throughout the building, giants of twentieth-century American art, including Philip Guston and Ben Shahn, painted monumental murals and carved reliefs depicting both the devastation of the Great Depression and the promises of the New Deal.^[4] These works are not only enormous, but painted directly onto the building’s walls. The Cohen is currently up for sale, opening the possibility that the structure could be radically altered, gutted, or demolished.^[5] As the federal government seeks to rapidly dispose of its real estate portfolio, the Cohen Building raises a larger question: what happens to public art when it is inseparable from architecture the government no longer wants to own?

The Nation’s Landlord

Federal properties are regularly bought and sold through the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), the agency that serves as the nation’s landlord. Under the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949, the GSA was granted authority to dispose of excess and surplus federal property.^[6] Today, the agency oversees approximately 360 million square feet of federal real estate while also managing centralized procurement and administrative services across the federal government.^[7]

In March 2025, the GSA published a list of 443 federally owned properties for public sale under the heading “Assets Identified for Accelerated Disposition.”^[8] While the federal government routinely buys and sells property, the speed and scale of this initiative were unprecedented. The list stunned many agency officials, many of whom learned their buildings had been marked for disposal only after the webpage went live.^[9] Within hours, the list was removed from the GSA’s website entirely. When it reappeared shortly afterward, it had been significantly pared down and accompanied by the explanation that “GSA is now publishing lists of assets we intend to dispose of in a more measured way…The list will continue to be updated as we execute our strategy to rightsize the federal portfolio.”^[10]

At present, the GSA’s accelerated disposition list includes nearly 50 properties across the country. According to the agency, the initiative is intended to expedite the disposal of federal property and “rightsize” the federal portfolio in order to “reduce the burden on the American taxpayer while also delivering space that enables its agency customers to achieve their missions.”^[11] The buildings identified for sale stretch from coast to coast, but particular attention has focused on those in Washington, D.C. Confirmed sales include the GSA’s own Regional Office Building,^[12] the former Department of Homeland Security headquarters,^[13] and most recently the Old Post Office Building.^[14] Awaiting buyers include the Library Loan Building, the USDA South Building, and the Wilbur J. Cohen Federal Building.^[15]

Carol M. Highsmith, Exterior view of the Wilbur J. Cohen Federal Building, Washington, D.C., 2011, Library of Congress

Building the Sistine Chapel of New Deal Art

After artist Ben Shahn received the commission for the Cohen Building in 1940, he wrote in a letter to the program’s director, Edward Bruce: “To me, it is the most important job that I could want. The building itself is a symbol of perhaps the most advanced piece of legislation enacted by the New Deal, and I am proud to be given the job of interpreting it, or putting a face on it.”^[16] Shahn, a Lithuanian immigrant who studied art in New York City, is recognized today as a leading figure of American Social Realism. His paintings flank the first-floor hallways, depicting on one side the suffering of the Great Depression and on the other the promise of Social Security in postwar America.^[17]

In total, the Cohen contains five murals and four relief carvings created by seven artists.^[18] The works were commissioned through the Treasury Department’s Section of Fine Arts, one of the principal federal programs responsible for New Deal art. Alongside the better-known Works Progress Administration (WPA), the Section sponsored murals, sculptures, and other public commissions across the country as part of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s broader recovery efforts.^[19] During this period, the U.S. government became the largest patron of contemporary art in the world, supporting American artists while also serving as a refuge for artists arriving from abroad.^[20] Together, the artworks and architecture produced through these commissions represent some of the most significant legacies of federal investment in American culture.

Designed by architect Charles Z. Klauder, the Cohen Building was originally constructed as the headquarters of the newly created Social Security Board in 1938.^[21] Yet due to the looming threat of World War II, the building was instead turned over to the War Department and the National Defense Commission shortly after its completion in 1940.^[22] Over the following decades, it housed a wide range of federal agencies, including the Federal Security Agency, the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, and most recently the Voice of America (VOA).^[23] Architecturally, the building is monumental: combining nineteenth-century revivalism with modernist forms and decorative references to both Egyptian Revival and Art Deco design.^[24]

The artworks commissioned for the Cohen were among the most prestigious projects of the New Deal art programs and were awarded through a highly competitive selection process.^[25] The murals and reliefs celebrate the Social Security Act of 1935, drawing heavily on the visual language of Mexican muralism and Renaissance painting while emphasizing themes of labor, dignity, and collective welfare.^[26] Their significance has earned the building the nickname “the Sistine Chapel of New Deal Art,” and helped secure its listing on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007 and designation as a D.C. landmark.^[27]

 

Henry Kreis, Benefits of Social Security, Granite, 1941 (Photograph by Carol M. Highsmith, 2011) Library of Congress

Henry Kreis, Benefits of Social Security, Granite, 1941 (Photograph by Carol M. Highsmith, 2011) Library of Congress

Ben Shahn, The Meaning of Social Security, Fresco Secco, 1942 (Photograph by Carol M. Highsmith, 2011) Library of Congress

Philip Guston, Reconstruction and the Wellbeing of the Family, 1943 (Photograph by Carol M. Highsmith, 2011) Library of Congress

Selling the Sistine Chapel

How does a building become a candidate for disposal less than twenty years after becoming protected for its historical significance and artistic value? While various laws and preservation protections exist to safeguard federally owned art and architecture, they do not make the sale of those buildings illegal.^[28] Moreover, the Cohen Building’s appearance on the accelerated disposition list is not entirely without precedent.

Although the building was occupied until March 2025, it had fallen into dramatic disrepair. The Voice of America (VOA), the Cohen’s primary tenant, was already planning to relocate its headquarters, signing a 15-year lease at 1875 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in 2024.^[29] This reflects a broader pattern across the National Mall, where several protected federal buildings have become vacant, underutilized, or functionally obsolete after decades of deferred maintenance and shifting agency needs.^[30] As such, the sale of federal properties in Washington has been promoted by the current administration not only as a way to reduce taxpayer spending on operations and maintenance, but also as an opportunity to revitalize parts of downtown Washington and return valuable real estate to the city’s tax rolls.^[31]

But the sale of the Cohen Building cannot be explained by building conditions alone; it is also closely tied to the Trump administration’s mass dismantling of federal agencies.^[32] In March 2025, around the same time that the GSA released its first list of properties slated for disposal, the administration began dissolving the VOA. In an executive order titled “Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy,” Trump directed the VOA’s parent organization, the United States Agency for Global Media, to be reduced “to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law,” alongside six other government entities.^[33] The following day, the administration issued a press release describing the VOA as the “Voice of Radical America” and claiming that “taxpayers are no longer on the hook for radical propaganda.”^[34]

In the days that followed, more than one thousand VOA employees were placed on administrative leave and barred from entering the Cohen Building.^[35] The VOA canceled its lease, and the public, which had previously been able to tour the Cohen, also lost access.^[36] Around the same time, several members of the GSA’s Fine Arts and Historic Preservation staff were also placed on leave, rendering the Cohen empty and a diminished staff charged with its stewardship.^[37] These cuts to the GSA not only affect Cohen but also the over 26,000 artworks that the GSA maintains around the country.^[38]

A New American Aesthetic

The GSA has always bought and sold federal real estate, and it will continue to do so. What distinguishes the current effort, in addition to the now greatly reduced staff, is evident in the project’s name: accelerated disposition. Traditionally, the disposal of protected federal property involves lengthy preservation reviews, development guidelines, public consultation, and extensive procedures for identifying appropriate buyers.^[39] Now, despite the numerous historic and preservation protections in place, it remains unclear whether the properties currently listed for disposal will undergo the same process.

One recent sale, of the Old Post Office Building in D.C., offers a potential roadmap for what may happen to historic artworks caught within these transactions. Announced on June 10, 2026, the GSA sold the building, which has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1973,^[40] to BDT & MSD Partners with plans to redevelop the office into a hotel.^[41] In a press release, the agency stated that the sale “will preserve the property’s historic character, delivering lasting cultural benefits to current and future generations, while demonstrating responsible stewardship of the nation’s architectural heritage.”^[42] Working with the Washington, D.C. Historic Preservation Office, the GSA also committed to maintaining public access to the building’s clock tower and the artworks inside, including Robert Irwin’s 48 Shadow Planes.^[43]

While this sale offers a measure of optimism for preservation efforts, the Cohen Building’s uncertain future, unlike that of the Old Post Office, is inseparable from its origins as a New Deal project. In August 2025, Trump issued the executive order “Make Federal Architecture Beautiful Again,” establishing classical architecture as the “preferred and default” style for federal buildings, particularly in D.C.^[44] The order directly criticizes many of the modernist and brutalist structures that emerged from New Deal building campaigns, describing them as “unpopular” and “unappealing,” and calling for their renovation and redesign.^[45] Trump’s announcement was reinforced by a second executive order, “Restoring Common Sense to Federal Office Space Management,” which allows agencies to easily relocate outside city centers and revokes policies encouraging federal headquarters to occupy historic properties.^[46]

The Cohen Building and the artworks inside now sit at the complex convergence of these rapid changes. The building is vacant, expensive to maintain, located in a largely dormant section of the National Mall, subject to architectural and political criticism, and increasingly disconnected from the federal workforce it was built to serve. At the same time, the Cohen and its artworks belong to the American public, recognized for their historical significance and artistic importance within the nation’s cultural legacy. Their future will depend not only on adherence to preservation standards but also on ongoing efforts to redefine the architectural character of the capital. As construction projects continue every day, it remains unclear whether the federal buildings listed for sale, and all the artworks on their walls, will have a place in this new American aesthetic.

About the Author

Sam Brady-Myerov (Center for Art Law Summer 2026 Graduate Legal Intern) is a rising second-year master’s student in the History, Theory, and Criticism of Architecture and Art program at MIT. She earned her BA in Art History and Political Science from Washington University in St. Louis in 2025 and was awarded a Fulbright Research/Open Study Award to Brazil. Her work focuses on urban decoration and the negotiations through which artists, architects, institutions, and public and private actors shape shared visual space.

Suggested Readings

1. Explore the GSA’s Fine Arts Collection, including its holdings of New Deal Art, the Art in Architecture Program, and historic Buildings in the District of Columbia.
2. Visit The Living New Deal, which features maps, articles, photographs, videos, and other resources documenting the history and legacy of the New Deal.
   1. Learn more about recent preservation efforts through The Living New Deal’s campaign, Save the Wilbur J. Cohen Building – the Sistine Chapel of New Deal Art.
3. Murphy, John P. New Deal Art. United Kingdom: Thames & Hudson, 2025.
4. Read about the landmark case Serra v. U.S. General Services Administration (1987) in this CfAL Article. The dispute between the GSA and artist Richard Serra established an important precedent in the development of moral rights and provides valuable context for the GSA’s authority over art as federal property.
5. Check out additional articles from the Center for Art Law on America’s 250th anniversary and ongoing debates surrounding the Trump administration, art, architecture, and the law.

Select References

1. Rachel Treisman, The many ways Trump wants to change D.C., from buildings to statues to parks, NPR (May 4, 2026), available at https://www.npr.org/2026/05/04/nx-s1-5798651/trump-dc-construction-tracker-ballroom-arch. ↑
2. U.S. General Services Administration, Assets Identified for Accelerated Disposition, U.S. Gen. Servs. Admin. (June 1, 2026), available at https://www.gsa.gov/real-estate/real-property-disposition/assets-identified-for-accelerated-disposition. ↑
3. Matt Ozug, Jeanette Woods & Ailsa Chang, Historic Murals Inside a D.C. Federal Building May Face an Uncertain Future, NPR (Nov. 26, 2025), available at https://www.npr.org/2025/11/26/nx-s1-5616655/historic-murals-inside-a-d-c-federal-building-may-face-an-uncertain-future. ↑
4. U.S. General Services Administration, Fine Arts Collection: Wilbur J. Cohen Federal Building, U.S. Gen. Servs. Admin., available at https://art.gsa.gov/sites/890189/dc0034zz/objects (last visited June 19, 2026). ↑
5. U.S. General Services Administration, Assets Identified for Accelerated Disposition, supra note 2;Ozug et al., Historic Murals Inside a D.C. Federal Building May Face an Uncertain Future, supra note 3. ↑
6. Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 § 102, 40 U.S.C. § 102. ↑
7. U.S. General Services Administration, Mission and Background, U.S. Gen. Servs. Admin. (May 18, 2026), available at https://www.gsa.gov/about-gsa/mission-and-background;U.S. General Services Administration, About GSA, U.S. Gen. Servs. Admin. (June 5, 2026), available at https://www.gsa.gov/about-gsa. ↑
8. U.S. General Services Administration, Assets Identified for Accelerated Disposition, supra note 2;Olivia George & Jonathan O’Connell, Trump Administration Reignites Effort to Sell Federal Properties, Washington Post (Mar. 27, 2026), available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2026/03/27/trump-administration-gsa-building-office/. ↑
9. Id. ↑
10. U.S. General Services Administration, Answers to FAQs about assets identified for accelerated dispositions, U.S. Gen. Servs. Admin. (Feb. 18, 2026), available at https://www.gsa.gov/real-estate/real-property-disposition/assets-identified-for-accelerated-disposition/accelerated-disposition-faqs. ↑
11. U.S. General Services Administration, Assets Identified for Accelerated Disposition, supra note 2. ↑
12. U.S. General Services Administration, GSA Sells Its Underutilized Federal Property in Washington, D.C., U.S. Gen. Servs. Admin. (Mar. 25, 2026), available at https://www.gsa.gov/about-gsa/newsroom/news-releases/gsa-sells-its-underutilized-federal-property-in-washington-dc-03252026. ↑
13. George & O’Connell, supra note 8. ↑
14. U.S. General Services Administration, GSA Sells Historic Old Post Office Building in Washington, D.C., U.S. Gen. Servs. Admin. (June 10, 2026), available at https://www.gsa.gov/about-gsa/newsroom/news-releases/gsa-sells-historic-old-post-office-building-in-washington-dc-06102026. ↑
15. U.S. General Services Administration, Assets Identified for Accelerated Disposition, supra note 2. ↑
16. U.S. General Services Administration, The Meaning of Social Security, U.S. Gen. Servs. Admin. Fine Arts Collection, available at https://art.gsa.gov/artworks/637/the-meaning-of-social-security (last visited June 19, 2026). ↑
17. Id. ↑
18. U.S. General Services Administration, Fine Arts Collection: Wilbur J. Cohen Federal Building, supra note 4. ↑
19. Ozug et al., Historic Murals Inside a D.C. Federal Building May Face an Uncertain Future, supra note 3. ↑
20. Id. ↑
21. U.S. General Services Administration, Wilbur J. Cohen Federal Building (SSA), Washington, D.C., U.S. Gen. Servs. Admin. (Oct. 28, 2025), available at https://www.gsa.gov/real-estate/explore-historic-buildings/find-a-historic-federal-building/wilbur-j-cohen-federal-building-ssa-washington-dc. ↑
22. Id. ↑
23. Id. ↑
24. Id. ↑
25. Ozug et al., Historic Murals Inside a D.C. Federal Building May Face an Uncertain Future, supra note 3. ↑
26. Mary Okin & John P. Murphy, The GSA is looking to shed the Wilbur J. Cohen Federal Building from its portfolio, but the art and architecture is worth saving, The Architect’s Newspaper (Nov. 25, 2025), available at https://www.archpaper.com/2025/11/gsa-wilbur-j-cohen-federal-building-art-and-architecture-saving/. ↑
27. Id;National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC SP Social Security Administration Building, National Archives Catalog (May 25, 2007), available at https://catalog.archives.gov/id/117692480. ↑
28. Okin & Murphy, The GSA is looking to shed, supra note 26. ↑
29. U.S. Agency for Global Media, USAGM signs lease to new Downtown DC HQ, initiating a move that will save the agency millions, U.S. Agency for Global Media (Sept. 27, 2024), available at https://www.usagm.gov/2024/09/27/u-s-agency-for-global-media-awards-lease-securing-voice-of-america-move-to-a-modern-new-downtown-d-c-headquarters/. ↑
30. U.S. General Services Administration, Assets Identified for Accelerated Disposition, supra note 2. ↑
31. George & O’Connell, supra note 8. ↑
32. Nick Schifrin, Dan Sagalyn & Zeba Warsi, What Is Voice of America and Why Trump Is Dismantling the Broadcaster, PBS NewsHour (Mar. 17, 2025), available at https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/what-is-voice-of-america-and-why-trump-is-dismantling-the-broadcaster. ↑
33. Exec. Order No. 14238, Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy, 90 Fed. Reg. 13043 (Mar. 14, 2025) ↑
34. The White House, The Voice of Radical America (Mar. 15, 2025), available at https://www.whitehouse.gov/releases/2025/03/the-voice-of-radical-america/. ↑
35. Scott Nover, How Kari Lake’s Dismantling of Voice of America Unraveled in Court, Washington Post (Mar. 19, 2026), available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2026/03/19/trump-voice-of-america-lawsuit-restored/. ↑
36. Gray Brechin, Government Moves to Sell “Sistine Chapel” of New Deal Art, Living New Deal (Nov. 7, 2025), available at https://livingnewdeal.org/sistine-chapel-of-new-deal-art-threatened/. ↑
37. Okin & Murphy, The GSA is looking to shed, supra note 26. ↑
38. Lydia DePillis, Graham Bowley & Robin Pogrebin, Trump Cuts Leave Few Caretakers for a Massive Federal Art Collection, New York Times (June 8, 2025), available at https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/08/arts/trump-cuts-leave-few-caretakers-for-a-massive-federal-art-collection.html?eafs_enabled=false. ↑
39. George & O’Connell, supra note 8. ↑
40. National Park Service, Old Post Office Tower, National Mall and Memorial Parks: District of Columbia (Feb. 6, 2026), available at https://www.nps.gov/nama/planyourvisit/opot.htm. ↑
41. U.S. General Services Administration, GSA Sells Historic Old Post Office Building in Washington, D.C., supra note 14. ↑
42. Id. ↑
43. Id. ↑
44. Exec. Order No. 14344, Making Federal Architecture Beautiful Again (Aug. 28, 2025). ↑
45. Id. ↑
46. Exec. Order No. 14274, Restoring Common Sense to Federal Office Space Management, 90 Fed. Reg. 16445 (Apr. 15, 2025). ↑