Beloved painting by Houston muralist in peril

John Biggers mural in jeopardy from leaky roof

An aging roof springing a leak is typically something only a homeowner would be worked up about. But when water is dripping above a million-dollar work of art by Houston muralist John Biggers, it's a national artistic emergency.

Contribution of Negro Women to American Life and Education - a 1953 piece depicting the strength of matriarchs, pioneers and survivors - covers a wall inside a room at the Blue Triangle Multi-Cultural Association's headquarters in Third Ward. Warped, water-stained ceiling tiles sit directly above the wall where the mural is painted.

Biggers, born in 1924, was among the young black artists whose work was included in a landmark exhibit at New York City's Museum of Modern Art in 1943. He was recruited to what became Texas Southern University in 1949 to start and chair its art department. The Cradle, a 1950 Biggers drawing, is considered the cornerstone of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston's African-American collection and is included in an exhibition of black art on display through April. Biggers was 76 when he died in 2001.

The gauzy and intense Blue Triangle mural features Harriet Tubman, who led enslaved people to freedom on the Underground Railroad, and Sojourner Truth, an abolitionist and women's rights activist, as dominant figures. The piece also depicts the work of 18th century poet Phillis Wheatley as well as the detailed hands and feet of laborers to portray working people.