The Rainbow Swash is the common name for an untitled work by Corita Kent in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. The rainbow design painted on a tall LNG storage tank is the largest copyrighted work of art in the world."Wartime Visions"
National Public Radio (November 3, 2001). Highly visible from daily commuters' drives on

Interstate 93 Interstate 93 (I-93) is an Interstate Highway in the New England states of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont in the United States. Spanning approximately along a north–south axis, it is one of three primary Interstate Highways ...

, it is considered one of the major landmarks of Boston, akin to the Citgo sign. Boston gas tank

Description

Originally created in 1971, the Rainbow Swash comprises large streaks of rainbow colors over a natural gas storage tank on Dorchester's waterfront, located about two miles (3 km) south of Downtown Boston. The landmark design is highly visible from the Southeast Expressway and passed by hundreds of thousands of commuters daily. The design was transferred to its present location in 1992 when the original LNG tank was torn down.Corcoran, Michael (October 21, 2007)
"Belatedly, Dot says tanks, Corita"
'' The Boston Globe''.Chesto, John (September 25, 2007)
"Under the rainbow: Logo to change"
, ''The Patriot Ledger''.

History

In 1971, then–Boston Gas Company president

Eli Goldston Eli Goldston (March 8, 1920 - January 21, 1974) was an American business leader and a leading spokesman for corporate social responsibility. He was President and CEO of Eastern Gas and Fuel Associates of Boston, Massachusetts, from 1961 until 197 ...

commissioned Corita Kent to paint the Rainbow Swash design on one of two adjacent LNG tanks facing Boston's Southeast Expressway. The original design was painted on an 8-inch (20 cm) scale model, from which 20 painters reproduced the work on the high tank. Since the 1970s, the Rainbow Swash has been controversial. The mural was criticized as purportedly featuring a profile of Vietnamese Leader Ho Chi Minh's face in its blue stripe. Kent was a peace activist, and some believe she was protesting the Vietnam War, but Kent herself always denied embedding such a profile. In 1992, the original rainbow-painted LNG tank was torn down and the Rainbow Swash was recreated on the adjacent tank despite objections from veterans groups. However, the blue stripe is less pronounced in the 1992 reproduction.Noonan, Kathleen (February 9, 2008)
"Sister Corita's art of a higher order"
'' The Courier-Mail'' Less controversially, the yellow stripe is said to resemble the profile of Fred Flintstone looking southward. In 2000, Boston Gas was acquired by Keyspan and the Keyspan logo replaced the Boston Gas logo under the rainbow. Keyspan was acquired and merged into

National Grid plc National Grid plc is a British multinational electricity and gas utility company headquartered in London, England. Its principal activities are in the United Kingdom, where it owns and operates electricity and natural gas transmission networks ...

and the National Grid logo was placed over the Keyspan logo in September 2007.

Controversy

A noted photographer,

James Prigoff James Prigoff (October 29, 1927 – April 21, 2021) was an American photographer, author, and lecturer focusing on public murals, graffiti, and spraycan art. He has traveled extensively throughout the world documenting these art forms, and his p ...

, ended up in a United States Department of Homeland Security database after photographing the Rainbow Swash. The

ACLU The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...

of California is currently suing the Federal Government calling into question the legality of the Suspicious Activity Reporting program which was used to report the photographer. In February 2019 the Ninth Court of Appeals affirmed an earlier finding for the government.

Notable appearances

The Swash appeared in the opening credits to the 2005 film ''Fever Pitch''.

References

External links

Artist Information: Corita Kent

"WGBH switches on digital mural at new Brighton digs"
by Donna Goodison, ''Boston Herald'' (Sept. 17, 2007)

at Boston Online {{Coord, 42, 18, 5.23, N, 71, 2, 42.6, W, region:US-MA_type:landmark, display=title 1971 paintings Culture of Boston Dorchester, Boston Landmarks in Dorchester, Boston Murals in Massachusetts Art in Massachusetts Rainbows in art