A Moment Lost to Time: The World Heritage Missions Collection

A city’s most important artistic record usually comes from one artist who can see what might soon disappear. In 2015, the World Heritage Missions Collection became San Antonio’s “Eugène Atget” moment, offering a final, clear view of our heritage at the exact time of the UNESCO World Heritage induction, before renovations and changes to Alamo Plaza. This collection is more than art—it is a cultural time capsule.

A Project Born from a Legacy of Proven Foresight

The Missions Collection was created as part of a long history of forward-thinking work. Kevin G. Saunders has designed FAA-certified manufacturing systems before they were needed and created large-scale industrial art that predicted global trends. His record shows he is not just an artist, but an innovator whose work is receiving national recognition.

The Five Missions:
A Hyperrealistic Mosaic

Each hyperrealistic Grand Scale masterwork in this collection is a technical achievement. The images range from 23 to 35 feet wide and up to 20 feet tall. They are composites created from up to 100 high-resolution photos combined with classic lighting to capture a brief emotional moment. The result is a high-tech equivalent to a master painting, showing details and scale that a single photograph cannot. Like Michelangelo, who transformed figures to tell a story, Saunders employs different artistic methods in these images: rectilinear projection for the Alamo and cylindrical projection for the others, to convey the unique character of each mission.

The Five Missions

Forged Against the Headwinds

Unlike past documentary projects that had government support, the Missions Collection was created at Saunders’ personal and financial risk. It was a choice made out of artistic conviction, during a brief period between the July UNESCO announcement and the October Inscription Ceremony. Capturing this historic moment required months of daily visits to the Missions to achieve the right light. Many more months of meticulous work followed at KGS Studios to combine hundreds of images into large, striking composites that rendered like a gigantic single hyperrealistic painting.

Becoming a Steward of San Antonio’s Heritage

This collection offers two distinct opportunities for patrons to secure a permanent legacy and champion a cornerstone of our city’s cultural brand. Each path is designed for a different level of strategic impact.

Path 1: The Institutional Patron – Acquiring a Limited Edition Set

Corporations, institutions, or individuals who want to show their commitment to San Antonio’s heritage can choose a museum-quality set of the five Missions. These sets come in three limited-edition sizes: Grand Scale ($500,000), Public Scale ($200,000), and Private Scale ($60,000). Each patron receives a magnificent 40″ x 66″ framed commemorative art piece that documents their contribution.

To provide complete transparency and detail for this opportunity, please review the complete project archives:

Path 2: The Civic Patron – The Grand Acquisition (The Solon’s Council)

The “Solon’s Council” is an idea for a group of visionary patrons who want to help guide San Antonio’s cultural legacy. Kevin G. Saunders was inspired by creating a 50-foot cityscape of New York City and realized that a community’s future depends on leaders coming together around a shared goal and a unifying symbol. The Missions Collection was created to serve as a symbol for our city, especially in times when communities can lose their sense of unity.

This is a rare chance for a group or a single major patron to own the entire historical archive, including all physical prints, intellectual property, and future royalty rights. To learn more about this opportunity to shape Texas’s cultural landscape, please read the detailed prospectus.

Begin the Conversation

Saunders states, “I have protected this collection since 2015 because I believe it is more than art; it is a symbol of our shared 300-year heritage. As the artist, my role was to capture this unique moment in time. Now, the next chapter belongs to the patrons and stewards who will help carry it forward. I invite you to start a conversation with me, a “Golden Handshake,” so we can work together to keep this part of San Antonio’s legacy alive for future generations.”