Strategery

Interesting move in the Randolph College chess game yesterday. According this report from Christa Desrets in the Lynchburg News & Advance, the school withdrew (without prejudice) its petition having to do with the Louise Jordan Smith trust, narrowing the focus of the legal fight to the four specific paintings it has been trying to sell (which were not purchased by the trust). Those four paintings had been scheduled for sale this month at Christie’s, until the Virginia courts granted opponents of the sale a six month injunction, subject to their posting a $1 million bond by this coming Monday. As Desrets notes:

"In September, opponents to the sale ... filed a motion to intervene in response to the college’s litigation regarding the Smith trust. They asked the court to declare that the entirety of the collection is interconnected and should be protected from sale or sharing. Because the college has withdrawn its suit on the matter, [a Randolph spokeswoman] said, that response litigation becomes a 'moot point.'"

"The saga of the 'Matter Pollocks' ... appears to have reached a quiet conclusion on Wednesday night"

That's Kate Taylor's take in the New York Sun on the IFAR-event I mentioned yesterday. She describes the evening as "alternately suspenseful, comic, and just plain odd." An example: "Mr. Martin delivered his lecture in the low, foreboding tone of someone describing a criminal investigation. At one point, he observed that the presence of one of the anachronistic pigments in the bottom layers of two paintings — beneath the application of the letters 'JP' on one painting and another apparent signature on the back side of another — 'may raise questions of intentional misattribution or fraud.'"

She also relates the following exchange from the Q & A:

"Addressing himself to [NYU's Pepe] Karmel, [Harvard curator Theodore] Stebbins asked: 'Since most people agree that, with a very few exceptions, they don't look like Pollocks, why are we here? Why did this [story] have legs?' 'Fear,' Mr. Karmel responded, noting that experts who offer opinions about authenticity risk being sued by disgruntled owners. ... 'Those of us who are scholars don't want to get involved.'"

Cleveland Plain Dealer art critic Steven Litt has been following this story as well, and his report on the event is here.

Icing

Geoff Edgers has a story in today's Boston Globe on Kurt Kauper's show of paintings at Deitch Projects called "Everybody Knew That Canadians Were The Best Hockey Players" and featuring nude portraits of Boston Bruin legends Bobby Orr and Derek Sanderson. You can see images of the works here. The story correctly notes that the paintings are protected by the First Amendment, though Kauper probably couldn't market the players' images on T-shirts or postcards.

Matter Pollocks Update

Forensic scientist James Martin spoke about his research regarding the "Matter Pollocks" at an IFAR-sponsored event last night. Randy Kennedy reports in today's New York Times that Martin said many of the works contain "paints and materials that were not available until after the artist’s death in 1956" and "at least one was painted on a board that was not produced earlier than the late 1970s or early ’80s." Kennedy says "the findings add to a growing body of evidence that the paintings — 32 in all, including some ephemera and works on paper — were made by someone other than Pollock or at least that many were substantially altered after the artist’s death." He also explains why it took so long for Martin's research to see the light of day:

"Mr. Martin was commissioned to examine the paintings in 2005 by their owner, Alex Matter.... Mr. Matter has said he found the paintings ... in 2002 or 2003 in a Long Island storage container that had belonged to his father. Although Mr. Martin ... completed the analysis last fall, he has said he did not release it earlier because Mr. Matter’s lawyer told him he would face a lawsuit if he did so. It is unclear why he chose to go public now. Mr. Matter’s lawyer ... has denied threatening Mr. Martin, but he has said that he did tell Mr. Martin he was not authorized to release the report because Mr. Matter ... did not feel it was complete."

"The greatest gallery in New York has shut its doors, probably forever"

Lance Esplund has an elegy for Salander-O'Reilly Galleries in this morning's New York Sun.

Tang v. Putruss

Rebecca Tushnet discusses a recent photography case from the Eastern District of Michigan involving issues of (1) joint authorship and (2) computation of statutory damages.

A bridge too far

Santiago Calatrava's lawsuit against the city of Bilbao over modifications to the bridge he designed there has been dismissed. Apparently the court ruled that, since "the walkway is essential for fluid pedestrian movement, the public interest must prevail over the private." (As I mentioned in an earlier post on the case, bridges are denied moral rights protection under U.S. law for largely the same reason.)

Calatrava says he will appeal.

More on the Astor Charges

From the AP:

"Prosecutors say [Marshall] falsely told Astor she was running out of money to persuade her to sell a Childe Hassam painting, 'Up the Avenue from 34th Street,' for $10 million; he allegedly took $2 million as a sales commission. He also is accused of taking two works of art, worth about $500,000 each, from Astor's house while she still lived there."

Step on a crack (UPDATED 2X)

Fifteen visitors to the Tate Modern have been injured since the opening of Doris Salcedo's Shibboleth, a large crack in the floor which, according to ARTINFO.com, "widens as it runs the length of the museum's 548-feet-long Turbine Hall" and is "intended to symbolize racial hatred and division." The museum "has positioned staff to monitor visitors around the hall, posted warning signs in the gallery, and distributed leaflets warning of potential injury, but four of the 15 accidents, some of which resulted in minor injuries, have nevertheless been reported to government authorities."

Art News Blog offers an explanation.

UPDATE: Ed Winkleman "can't imagine a museum taking such a risk" in "the highly more litigious U.S."

UPDATE 2: Insurance lawyer George Wallace: "Brings a [w]hole new meaning to the phrase 'Fall Art Season,' eh?"

"This is not a true restoration—it’s a reproduction"

The Chicago Reader has more on Israeli artist Yaacov Agam's battle to prevent the reinstallation of his sculpture Communication X9 in a downtown office tower, mentioned earlier here. He continues to maintain that the restoration has resulted in the creation of an unauthorized derivative work:

"The idea that the work is now a copy has more than casual significance. Although this is the kind of mess the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 was devised to address, that legislation—which allowed Chapman Kelley to score a recent court victory over the Chicago Park District for destroying his Grant Park wildflower garden—won’t help Agam. Communication X9 went up in ’83, and the law isn’t retroactive. Before VARA, artists had to rely on protections like copyright, and attorney Scott Hodes, who’s representing Agam, says that area of the law would be applicable here. Hodes says Agam retains the copyright and so his permission would be needed for any derivative work."

"As a businessperson, I would be very concerned at the deal Fisk has cut with the museum in Arkansas"

Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen isn't impressed with Fisk University's proposed deal with the Crystal Bridges Museum. He says "estimates from art experts and insurers indicate the collection could easily be worth $150 million. 'And $30 million for half of it is not a very good deal,' he said." He adds:

"Ultimately the court and Fisk have got to decide, are you going to sell this thing or not? And if not, fine. Put it aside and get on with other ways of solving the Fisk problem. If you're going to sell it, I'd rather they go out and sell it properly and take the money and put it in the bank and secure Fisk's long-term future."

I'm not surprised people are becoming frustrated with the way this is being handled.

Criminal Charges in Astor Case

The New York Times reports today that Brooke Astor’s son, Anthony Marshall, and one of her former lawyers have been indicted on criminal charges "stemming from the stewardship of her financial affairs and the handling of her will":

"Prosecutors were believed to be investigating millions of dollars in cash, property and stocks that Mr. Marshall obtained over the years in his role as steward of his mother’s finances. That included the sale of one of Mrs. Astor’s favorite paintings, 'Flags, Fifth Avenue,' also known as 'Up the Avenue from Thirty-Fourth Street, May 1917,' by Childe Hassam, for $10 million. Mr. Marshall collected a $2 million fee from his mother for handling the transaction."

Earlier post here.

One Man's Trash ...

The Rufino Tamayo painting rescued from the trash on a New York City sidewalk sold for more than $1 million at Sotheby's this week.

"I would say this is a very close call"

Sewell Chan of The New York Times reports:

"The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission decided yesterday that the Guggenheim should maintain the same light-gray paint shade it has had since 1992, when a major expansion of the museum ... was completed, rather than the original light yellow."

Museum CFO Charged

The Seattle Times reports that the former chief financial officer of the Bellevue Arts Museum has been charged with 38 counts of felony theft for embezzling $300,000 from the museum. "Prosecutors say [she] stole most of the money by writing checks to herself and then covering them up with fake entries in the museum's financial ledger."

"The very legitimacy of Randolph College is at issue"

The Charlottesville Daily Progress has an editorial on the temporarily-stalled Randolph College art sale today:

"[T]wo pieces of artwork proposed for sale were donated without restrictions. Two more weren’t donated at all - they were purchased.

"Critics of the sale say that doesn’t matter.

"Oh, yes, it does matter.

"At least, as owner, the school ought to be able to sell the paintings it bought.

"As for the two paintings donated without restrictions, sale critics say the donors would have restricted their gifts if they had guessed the paintings would ever be up for sale.

"But business decisions like this cannot rely on would have/might have/could have. Decisions cannot fairly be based on guesses - in this case not just on donor intent, but guesses about donor intent.

"Donors can rightly restrict the use of gifts, through contractual arrangements."

It goes on to point out that "the museum is not a stand-alone entity. It is part of the college. And the college is fighting for its life. Museum supporters say its educational mission would be compromised by the sale; college leaders say that without the sale, the entire college is at risk of going under. Which is more important?"

Still, despite all that, the paper thinks the Virginia Supreme Court was right to enjoin the sale. Why?

"Other lawsuits are pending against Randolph for having switched from an all-female school to a co-ed institution. ... While those lawsuits are pending, the very legitimacy of Randolph College is at issue.

"If the school had no right to remake itself, then its current incarnation is illegitimate - and it therefore has no authority to dispose of the school’s assets.

"It would seem that the courts must first answer the question of whether the new co-ed version of the college may even be permitted to exist. Then the question of the art sale can be settled.

"Of course, by then the question may be moot. Randolph College may cease to exist because it has run out of money."

"Possibly the only way such pieces will ever again be shown"

Portfolio magazine presents The Gallery of Stolen Art. "The fate of the art pictured in our slide show ... remains a puzzle to law-enforcement officials. Here's a rare opportunity to see these works."

No Standing

Last month Callen Bair wondered about certain "art world dramas that play out in the public eye before everyone loses interest," mentioning as an example: "What about Andrew Lloyd Webber's Picasso?" Today we have an answer: "A New York state court Monday dismissed a lawsuit filed by the alleged owner of a Pablo Picasso painting who claimed his great-uncle was forced by the Nazis to sell the artwork." The case was decided on narrow standing grounds -- "Notwithstanding the very significant issues raised by this litigation, this Court is constrained to dismiss it because plaintiff does not have standing to bring this action without being appointed a personal representative of the estate" -- and may not be the end of the story: "to pursue this matter, plaintiff will have to convince the Surrogate's Court that he qualifies to be appointed the personal representative of Paul von Mendelssohn-Barthody's United States estate consisting of the painting."

The decision is here. As I mentioned at the time the suit was filed, even if he gets past the standing hurdle, the plaintiff still has an uphill climb.

Do I amuse you?

Add Robert De Niro to the list of those suing Larry Salander and his gallery. The New York Post reports that 12 paintings by De Niro's late father were allegedly among the 50 pieces that Salander-O'Reilly delivered to an Italian gallery this spring to pay off some debt (or, as the Post puts it, "in an effort to stem severe financial hemorrhaging"). I recently mentioned a different approach some of the other owners were taking to try to get those works back.

"What happens after that, nobody knows" (UPDATED)

The Washington Post had an article today on the Randolph College injunction. It points out that the Virginia Supreme Court's order did not provide the reasoning behind the ruling (you can read the order here), includes some more elation on the part of the group opposing the sales, and quotes a Randolph spokeswoman as saying that, after the six-month injunction period, "we will take another look at whether we will continue an auction of the paintings."

UPDATE: Christa Desrets has a lengthy story in Sunday's Lynchburg News & Advance reminding us why the school is trying to sell the paintings in the first place:

"In about three weeks, ... the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Randolph’s accrediting institution, will decide whether to remove the college from warning, keep it on warning, place it on probation, or remove accreditation. In recent months, the former Randolph-Macon Woman’s College has transformed from single-sex to coeducational, reduced staff and faculty, announced closings of departments, lowered its tuition discount rate, placed salary freezes, reduced pension contributions, tightened expenses, and made the decision to sell four paintings from the Maier Museum of Art - all to strengthen the college’s finances and ensure its future, according to school officials. Last year, ... SACS placed the college on warning after discovering the school was spending its endowment at an unsustainable rate."