A bit bizarre, but certainly eye-catching, although to be honest we’ve never noticed it before, despite having driven down H Street NE countless times.

Painted in 2012 by Baltimore-based artist Gaia, it adorns the side wall of the now-closed Smith Commons restaurant and features the body of a half-human, half-hen opening its jacket to reveal an Albert Bierstadt landscape painting of Yosemite.

Said a spokesperson for the restaurant: “He rented a dolly lift, and just got to work. No grid was drawn on the wall -- he only did a bit of projection of the Smith Commons logo, but otherwise, the whole mural was completed freehand, with outdoor acrylic paints, rollers and brushes, finished with spray paint.”

The artist had previously painted a large hand on a wall overlooking the restaurant’s patio.

Best to view in "Original" because other versions resized by Pbase are decidedly
unsharp.

‘Wear a mask,’ posted earlier: