Greensburg-based artist says he feels overlooked after Kennywood auction

Online bidding for pieces of an original Thunderbolt rollercoaster mural at Kennywood Park raised over $14,000 for charity last weekend. But the artist behind the original work believes it could have raised more — if he had been told about the auction.

Raphael Pantalone, a mural artist and retired elementary school teacher for the Greensburg Salem School District, painted the Thunderbolt mural at Kennywood in 2002. Last week, the park invited mural artist group Wicked Pittsburgh to paint a new one in celebration of the ride’s 100th anniversary. It opened as the Pippin in 1924 and was reconfigured and renamed the Thunderbolt in 1968.

Six pieces of Pantalone’s original art were auctioned to raise money for the nonprofit, 412 Food Rescue.

Pantolone said this week that he was disappointed to learn of the auction through a Facebook post.

“I never knew they were doing this, which is fine. Nothing will last forever,” said Pantalone, a 62-year-old South Greensburg native. “But if they could have just spoke to me, it would’ve brought more money up for them, but it also would have made it more meaningful all the way around.”

The artist said he tried to contact Kennywood last week, offering to sign five of the six auctioned pieces that did not already have his signature on them. Kennywood’s marketing team called Pantalone back a week after the auction concluded, he said.

Kennywood Park was part of a family owned entertainment company until 2007, when the two families who owned it, the Henniger’s and McSwigan’s, sold it to Parques Reunidos, an entertainment company based in Spain.

Lynsey Winters, communications director at Palace Entertainment, a subsidiary of Parques Reunidos, said the thought of reaching the original mural artist didn’t come up before the auction. But the oversight, Winters said, wasn’t because of any ill intent.

“Our goal was just to raise money for 412 Food Rescue, and those who wanted a piece of Kennywood history could have it,” Winters said.

“The ride is historic, but that mural is only 20 years old.”

Besides feeling forgotten about, Pantalone said he has the option to sue for copyright — if he wants to take it.

His stylization of the letter “T” in the original mural as the “T-Bolt,” the nickname park workers coined for the ride, is part of the new mural. Pantalone said that symbol is his original design, and he wasn’t asked permission to use it.

“If I’m being aggressive, it’s because I’ve been mistreated,” Pantalone said.

Winters said Palace Entertainment cannot comment on Pantalone’s option to sue.

“We definitely will continue to be in contact with him. We’ll get it figured out.”

When the park was family owned, Pantalone said he had a close relationship with the owners — a bond that led the family to have Pantalone paint about 60 pieces for the park since 2000.

But since ownership changed hands, Pantalone said, his role as a contributing artist to the park has crumbled, despite his best efforts. Over the past decade, Pantalone said his offers to create new pieces have gone unheard.

“I’m trying to contact them, and they won’t even contact me. Basically, I am less than cheese sauce and ketchup,” Pantalone said, referring to Pittsburgher-backlash the park faced in 2019 when it replaced the original cheese sauce on Potato Patch fries and Heinz ketchup.

This story has been updated.