Jerry Boyle’s Holier Than Thou Statue Controversy.

Each year, Washburn University sponsors an outdoor sculpture contest and displays winning entries around campus for several months. In 2003, Colorado artist Jerry Boyle’s bronze sculpture titled Holier Than Thou was one of 5 winning entries.

Boyle’s sculpture showed a Catholic clergyman with a grotesque facial expression, wearing a ceremonial hat that resembles a phallus. Immediately, a controversy erupted and a lawsuit was filed to remove the statue. The court, however, disagreed.

Read more about Jerry Boyle’s sculpture and other artworks on trial at Art on Trial online exhibit.