Mulleian was introduced to Beniamino Bufano by his manager, Leonard Frank. This led to Mulleian's first San Francisco showing with Bufano in 1969, and they became good friends. In 1970 Bufano sat for Mulleian in a modeling session, posing his right hand for a sketch. Legend has it that in protest of the First World War, Bufano cut off the index finger of his right hand and sent it to President Woodrow Wilson. Bufano
died on August 16,1970.