(St. Louis Public Radio) – The fight over a St. Louis student’s painting that has been repeatedly removed or re-hung in the U.S. Capitol appears to be headed toward federal court.
U.S. Rep. William Lacy Clay said Monday that he plans to file suit Tuesday in Washington to challenge officials’ decision last month to remove the painting by former Cardinal Ritter student David Pulphus. It was among the winners in an annual congressional art contest.
The painting had been displayed for months in an annex of the Capitol when it caught the attention – and ire – of some conservative news commenters and members of Congress, because it depicts some police as animals.
The painting focuses on the unrest in Ferguson following the 2014 police shooting that killed 18-year-old Michael Brown. Clay has noted that the painting portrays some other humans as animals as well.
The congressman says the real issue is artistic freedom. Clay said in a statement that the painting had been “on peaceful public display for seven months.” Clay contended that the Capitol’s official architect, Stephen Ayers, removed the painting in January because of pressure from “certain right-wing media outlets” and House Speaker Paul Ryan, a Republican from Wisconsin.
Clay contended the removal was unwarranted because the painting “was initially subjected to the same review and approval process as the other 400-plus winning student entries in the 2016 Congressional Art Competition.”
Republished with permission of St. Louis Public Radio: http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/rep-lacy-clay-file-suit-over-ferguson-inspired-painting-taken-down-us-capitol
