Kent Twitchell

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Kent Twitchell (born 1942, Lansing, Michigan) is an American muralist who is most active in Los Angeles. He is most famous for his larger-than-life photorealist mural portraits, often of celebrities and artists.

Twitchell joined the United States Air Force and was stationed in London, where he served as an illustrator.

Upon his discharge, he studied art at East Los Angeles College (AA, 1968), California State University, Los Angeles (BA, 1972), and the Otis College of Art and Design (MFA, 1977). He was active in the creation of the Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles and served on its advisory board.

In 1992 he won a major victory for the cause of legal protection of murals as public art when a court awarded him damages for the destruction of his mural The Freeway Lady. Shortly after the 1994 Northridge earthquake, when his studio was destroyed, Twitchell and his family moved to northern California.

In 2008 he settled a lawsuit against the U.S. Government and 12 other defendants for painting over his 70-foot tall l