"Mr. Brand speculated that this painting was chosen precisely because it had been stolen before, and thieves assumed it 'must be important.'"

 NYT:  17th-Century Dutch Painting Is Stolen. Again.

"According to a lawsuit filed in federal court Friday, Frederick 'Hank' Robar is requesting no less than $7 million in damages from the village as the infamous 15-year dispute over his 'toilet gardens' enters its likely most contentious chapter to date."

There's a headline for you. Story here.

One of his claims is under VARA.

What Happens If Your Gallery Goes Belly Up?

 Tom and Charles Danziger explain.

"The style we’re after is very much inspired by your work and that of other artists like Steven Paul Judd and Frank Hyde"

 The Art Newspaper:  Redbone music video sparks artist dispute over copyright infringement.

Another example having to do with the scope of protection for an artist's style (as opposed to a specific work).

"All buyers must also sign a contract with extensive conditions. They must agree not to resell the work at auction for at least five years; if they do want to sell, they must give the artist right of first refusal; and, if they sell to someone else, they have to give 15 percent of the upside back to the artists."

A contractual resale royalty is in place for "'Say It Loud (I’m Black and Proud),' an online selling exhibition at Christie’s that opened on July 31 and is dedicated to the promotion of Black art."

Arlene Dávila tweets: "Great example of how curators can advocate for artists' resale royalty rights. Let's stop the speculation & the unequal model where only collectors/speculators benefit from the evaluation of artists' works."

The Christopher Sprigman view of this would be that it will to some extent suppress the price buyers are willing to pay for the works in the auction (i.e., that you would pay for more for an asset that comes with no strings attached than you would for the same asset with these conditions).

Sergio Muñoz Sarmiento: "One thing that really annoys me is how articles like this get written with absolutely no mention of well-known historical precedents, like Robert Projansky’s and Seth Siegelaub’s The Artist’s Reserved Rights Transfer And Sale Agreement, from 1971. God forbid there would be any mention of Hans Haacke or Michael Asher."

A while back, musician and art collector Swizz Beatz had a proposal for an auction house-based resale royalty scheme, mentioned here.

"The Albright-Knox Art Gallery is suing the architects who planned its warehouse expansion five years ago, alleging they failed to design a structure that would prevent condensation from occurring inside that could damage artwork and other precious items."

 Buffalo News story here.

"A Brooklyn Art-Storage Company Is Suing Art Dealer Fergus McCaffrey for Allegedly Failing to Pay His $145,000 Bill"

 artnet news story here.

"Staten Island artist Scott LoBaido has a lawyer and is ready to take on the de Blasio administration in court if the Department of Transportation continues to pressure him to remove his thin blue line outside of the 122 precinct."

The artist says he "painted the blue line as a way to stand in solidarity with the NYPD after Mayor Bill de Blasio announced he would paint 'Black Lives Matter” street murals across the five boroughs on the heels of nationwide racial injustice protests." His lawyer argues: "Cites can do one of two things, they can either paint nothing and take no position, or they can allow everybody to paint … their own political points of view on the streets. But they can’t selectively say ‘my political opinion is going to be allowed to be painted and yours is not, and if you paint yours, you’re going to be subject to fines, penalty, imprisonment."

"In a statement to the Daily News, he said: 'It may be left over from my divorce, but I don’t have such a bill.'"

 "Rudolph Giuliani, the former New York City mayor and attorney to Donald Trump, has been hit with a lawsuit in New York State Supreme Court by an art advisor who says he failed to pay for her appraisal services, which he received during his contentious divorce from Judith Nathan in 2019.  The advisor, Miller Gaffney, runs the firm MGAA. She is alleging that Giuliani owes more than $15,700 for services rendered."

"An Italian court was weighing whether to press charges, CNN reported on Wednesday."

 NYT:  Tourist Posing With 200-Year-Old Sculpture Breaks Its Toes.

"Art Companies Jostle for Ownership of Basquiat Painting in New Inigo Philbrick–Related Lawsuit"

The latest, from Alex Greenberger at ARTnews, here.

"Doubting Gauguin"

Sebastian Smee in the Washington Post: An amateur detective takes on the National Gallery, and the art world.

"G&M’s petition is the first direct challenge to VARA’s constitutionality, and the Supreme Court’s response to the petition should be closely watched by property owners—including retail stores that may commission street art to adorn their retail space, as well as the art world generally."

5Pointz Owner Seeks SCOTUS Review of VARA. Background here.