The stunning 8,000-square-foot mural is impossible to miss as you travel eastbound on Grand Boulevard from Woodward Avenue into the Milwaukee Junction area of Detroit, Michigan near the New Center.
Painted by local artist Sydney James, The Girl with the D Earring mural stands nine stories tall on the west wall of the 107-year-old Chroma building, recently renovated by The Platform development company.
James is well known in Detroit for her murals across the city, including Our Issue and Black List (which I highlighted a few years ago on this blog) as part of Murals in the Market at Eastern Market.
She also recently completed Malice Green Mural Monument.
The Girl with the D Earring is a modern take of the Girl with a Pearl Earring, by Johannes Vermeer.
Featuring her friend and community activist Halima Cassells, the woman in the mural wears a distinctive pink Old English “D” earring.
People throughout metro Detroit and Michigan will recognize the Old English D, a symbol of Detroit used by the Detroit Free Press as well as the Detroit Tigers.
For residents of Detroit’s North End, you’ll notice the jacket worn by Cassells has patched logos of several historic North End and Paradise Valley businesses.
Completed in six days in early September 2020, the incredible mural celebrates the city and the people of Detroit.
