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Confederate

Artist sues after Confederate painting blocked from Fresno fair

Catherine Saunders-Watson
Catherine Saunders-Watson
Rare Confederate Army of Northern Virginia Battle Flag, circa 1861. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com and Brunk Auctions
Rare Confederate Army of Northern Virginia Battle Flag, circa 1861, auctioned for $70,000 on July 16, 2011. Unrelated to lawsuit in California; shown for visual purposes only. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com and Brunk Auctions

 

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) – A Fresno artist has filed a lawsuit against state officials accusing them of violating his free speech by keeping his painting out of The Big Fresno Fair.

The Fresno Bee reports that Timothy Desmond has filed a lawsuit challenging Gov. Jerry Brown’s September 2014 ban on the Confederate flag being displayed on state property.

The 2014 law says the Battle Flag of the Confederacy or any similar image cannot be sold or displayed on state property unless the image appears in a medium that serves an educational or historical purpose.

Desmond created a painting that depicts Confederate soldiers fighting in the 1864 siege of Atlanta. The Big Fresno Fair banned the painting because the Confederate flag is in the painting.

Desmond argues the law should not apply to privately created art displayed at state-run fairs.

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Information from: The Fresno Bee, http://www.fresnobee.com

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