Carlos Páez Vilaró: Roots of Peace

Roots of Peace, which is nearly as long as the nearby Washington Monument is high, runs underground the OAS campus next to the National Mall and serves as a daily reminder to OAS diplomats and staff of their mission to ensure peace and harmony throughout the Americas. It was conceived in ten large tonal and thematic areas, without clear demarcation, suggesting the spiritual unity that bonds the peoples of the Americas without suppressing unique differences. The mural’s themes are: technical cooperation, racial tolerance, mutual assistance and closely knit markets, physical health, common ideals, preservation of folklore, cultural exchange and artistic encouragement, use of natural resources and industrial development, child-welfare services and the eradication of ignorance, and respect for liberties. The aim to achieve the fruits of peace is repeatedly symbolized by the image of a fish, the dominant note in the mural. It was restored by Spanish artist Roberto Arce between 2001 and 2002, who recovered the lines and colors of the work that had been repainted by Páez Vilaró in 1975. Arce was again commissioned to restore the mural to its original brilliance, in 2019.