According to the owner, twelve watercolor/gouache sketches were created by Maynard Dixon in 1934 as part of his proposal for the inner dome of the rotunda of the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, California. Dixon also executed a larger version of the sketches (not offered here). The mural art project was abandoned and the inner dome remains undecorated to this day.

Each sketch is on brown paper, approximately 4 5/8 by 3 1/2 inches. The images are approximately 3 1/2 by 2 3/4 inches and 1 inch across the top designed to fit the proportions of the spaces in the inner dome. The frames measure 14 1/2 by 11 3/8. The sketch is 4 1/4 by 3 5/8. Eleven are signed "MD 34". One is signed indistinctly. The sketches were acquired by the present owner in 1990.