It’s Curtains for Courthouse Mural

SALT LAKE CITY — A dark green curtain now shrouds a modernist mural that towers 19 feet behind the Supreme Court bench, leaving lawyers and art experts arguing the case for abstract art in the courtroom.

The 300-square-foot mural “Capitol Reef” was unveiled at the Scott M. Matheson Courthouse when the building opened in 1998. But when court convened this week, the $80,000 mural was hidden behind a mechanized curtain.

Five Supreme Court justices voted unanimously that the mural distracted attorneys, court spokeswoman Jan Thompson said Thursday. “Covering it doesn’t have to do with them liking it or not liking it, but about the appropriateness of the setting, whether it’s overpowering the room and court proceedings,” Thompson said.

But the court couldn’t quantify the number of complaints, and some question whether the justices couldn’t stomach the reality of modern art.

“It’s a . . . shame because it looked like a million dollars down there,” said Bob Olpin, former dean of the College of Fine Art at the University of Utah. “I hope Utah can catch up someday. People should be able to deal with abstraction.”

Artist V. Douglas Snow’s mural shows a desert after a thunderstorm with vaporous clouds rising from the cliffs and domes, a symbolic representation of resolution after conflict.