Was Philadelphia’s Erasure of Cosby Mural Illegal?

Nicholas O’Donnell explains,

Few things have brought consensus recently more than the revulsion over the allegations against comedian Bill Cosby, a Philadelphia native.  Yet in a desire to distance itself from Cosby, the city may have crossed a First Amendment line when a well-known mural entitled “Father’s Day” that depicts Cosby was painted over.  And even if the city did not run afoul of that constitutional protection, the artist of the mural may have [a claim] under the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990, 17 U.S.C. § 106A (VARA) rights too. [Brackets added]