Artist’s Awakening to battle the Smithsonian over his First Amendment rights - With Juilan Raven
Artist fights for his First Amendment rights when the Smithsonian refuses to display his painting of President Trump.
Julian Raven is a British-born, Spanish-raised American artist, author, entrepreneur, & First Amendment activist. After being a U.S. Missionary & Bible student, Raven’s journey went from the pulpit to the Supreme Court. Raven made news when his Trump portrait was rejected by the Smithsonian in 2016, launching an eight-year legal battle reaching the Supreme Court and resulting in his becoming an official Smithsonian reformer. Representing himself through 2 federal cases, Raven’s challenge to government overreach landed him #4 on President Trump’s list of reasons to fire Kim Sajet, then Director of the National Portrait Gallery. He tells that full story in his book Odious and Cerberus: An American Immigrant’s Odyssey and His Free Speech Legal War Against Smithsonian Corruption.
