Saturday, January 29, 2011

"Here's hoping that the Kennaugh-Amadio's website works its magic and lures this major masterpiece back into the light."

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Greg Allen on the art-historical significance of the Pebble Beach Pollock .
Thursday, January 27, 2011

Will estate tax changes discourage charitable bequests?

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The Art Newspaper's Martha Lufkin examines the question.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Tell me again about the "public trust" (New York Times edition)

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The New York Times notices that hey, maybe museums don't hold their works in trust for the public after all. They can -- and do -- se...
Tuesday, January 25, 2011

"Don’t let these treasures become assets to a bank trying to recoup its losses on an unpaid debt."

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Paddy Johnson notes that the Jersey City Museum remains closed. She puts out a call for "Jersey City’s Eli Broad," a "wealt...
Monday, January 24, 2011

File Under "It's Only Wrong When Brandeis Does It"

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The New York Times had a story this morning on how, with "government subsidies ... falling and corporate donations ... dwindl[ing] as...

"Tell them I’m not a bad guy. I’m awful sorry if I caused them any trouble."

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The FT's John Gapper has a terrific story on serial forger Mark Landis (mentioned earlier here ): "Landis was clearly disturbed b...

"That’s one step below attempted murder."

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A Chicago artist faces up to 15 years in prison -- for recording his arrest for selling art without a permit. The New York Times story is h...
Friday, January 21, 2011

The Gallery Strikes Back

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The New York Times reports that the San Francisco gallery that was on the receiving end of a cease-and-desist letter from Jeff Koons for pr...
Thursday, January 20, 2011

Linkage (questions edition)

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Should art museums dabble in variable-rate demand bonds and interest-rate swaps? Who owns balloon dogs? What happened to the missing Mystic ...

New Issue of Journal of Art Crime

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The Fall 2010 issue of ARCA's Journal of Art Crime is out. I wrote about the latest (legislative) developments regarding Von Saher v. ...

"There is also a ... Girolamo di Benvenuto Nativity that was once (1966) considered important enough to rate a museum publication."

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Another museum sale that will not cause somebody to say, " Why should I give this to you? What guarantee do I have that you're no...

"Simply irrational"

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Cristina del Rivero reacts to the BBC article I mentioned earlier in the week: "The fear among the 'anti-deaccessioning police...
Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Park West Update

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The Art Market Monitor is monitoring Park West Galleries' "roster of lawsuits."

"A BBC Freedom of Information request found the British Museum had spent £86,280 in 2009 and 2010 keeping 99% of its collection in storage."

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They're holding them in trust.
Monday, January 17, 2011

"Thus, the adversaries — the multinational corporation and the street artist — become business partners. Long live capitalism!"

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The LA Times editorial board on the Fairey-AP settlement.

"In other words, to bankroll today's curatorial spending sprees, PAFA sold historic works ..."

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". . . that its own curators had previously valued enough to include in special exhibitions (and probably also in the museum's pe...
Sunday, January 16, 2011

Tell me again about the "public trust" (a continuing series)

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The Cleveland Museum of Art is selling "more than two dozen European old master paintings in the largest sell-off from its collection ...
Friday, January 14, 2011

"Reading between the lines of the announcement, the settlement appears to be a near-complete win for the AP and its lawyers at Kirkland & Ellis."

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More on the AP-Fairey settlement , from the Alison Frankel of The American Lawyer: "Under the terms of the deal, Fairey has agreed no...
Wednesday, January 12, 2011

"In his letter, Mr. Bain argues that Mr. Bronson holds copyright in the work owned by the National Gallery ..."

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" . . . and, as such, 'has the exclusive right to display the work .'" The Toronto Globe and Mail reports that "Cana...

Everybody Needs a Hobby (UPDATED)

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The NYT's Randy Kennedy has a great story today about a guy who's been going around donating fake works to museums: "Unlike mo...