Will Smith

Richard Wilson’s 60-foot mural of Will Smith is Philly’s latest large-scale dedication to one of its most famous residents. It is also the first Philly mural to be dedicated entirely to Smith, one of Philly’s most famous natives.

As Wilson says, he found the mural’s location on Google Maps, and used Google Street View to find a wall tall enough for Smith’s image. After finding it, he set to work on what he called a “65-foot symbol of ‘you can do anything you want to do.’” He connected with Mural Arts Philadelphia to make it happen. MAP assisted with helping Wilson obtain wall authorization, securing a lift, and connected him to the school after his Google search.

Although Smith served as Wilson’s original inspiration, when it came to completing the piece, he looked toward President Barack Obama, and his portraitist Kehinde Wiley, to compose the artwork. Rather than depicting Smith from a 1994 “Fresh Prince” episode, the artist chose to show Smith seated in a wooden chair wearing a clean suit (paired with Air Jordans) – sitting not unlike President Obama is in his National Portrait Gallery depiction. To make the connection between the two portraits even clearer, Wilson added some leaf motifs for good measure. The mural took 12 days to complete using direct spray paint on the wall. As the mural is not sealed with a protective coat, it will be viable for a limited number of years.