Diego Rivera, the Mexican muralist, painted the Detroit Industry murals in fresco in 1932 and 1933. They cover 27 panels on four walls of the Rivera Court at the Detroit Institute of Arts.
The museum director, Wilhelm Valentiner, brought Rivera in, and Edsel Ford contributed $20,000 to make the commission possible. Rivera was a controversial choice because he followed Marxist philosophy.
In 1933 some clergy and newspapers attacked the murals. The target was a panel showing a Christ-like child being vaccinated. Some demanded its destruction, but Edsel Ford and Valentiner refused. The murals became a National Historic Landmark in April 2014.