Controversial murals removed from courthouse head to college

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) – Two courthouse murals that were taken down last month in Columbia amid concerns that they depict an attempted lynching, a white man pointing a gun at a Native American man and enslaved people building the courthouse have a new home.

The murals are headed to the private Columbia College, where Sidney Larson, the late artist who painted the murals, taught for more than 50 years.

A gallery in the college’s Brown Hall is named in his honor.

The murals will be stored at the college until an exhibit can appropriately highlight the educational and historical purpose of the artwork, college President David Russell wrote in a letter last week to Presiding Commissioner Dan Atwill.