Friday, August 28, 2015

"The complaint filed by Simchowitz in Central California Federal Court is eye-opening for its combination of candor, hubris, and delusion."

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Greg Allen on the Stefan Simchowitz lawsuit I mentioned a couple days ago.  The complaint is here .  Some thoughts from Simchowitz on how ...

"When is imitation in art flattery, and when is it theft?"

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Interesting piece in The Economist on the Kapoor-China story.
Thursday, August 27, 2015

"I have been sacked."

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The NYT :   "A significant trove of modern Russian art, preserved not least by its obscure location, was engulfed in controversy on Wed...
Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Simchowitz Suit

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" Los Angeles dealer and artist agent Stefan Simchowitz and Dublin dealer Jonathan Ellis King have filed suit against the Ghanaian arti...
Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Partly Cloudy

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My friend Alfred Steiner -- who was an IP lawyer at Morrison & Foerster and is now a full-time artist -- writes in with his take on Clo...
Monday, August 24, 2015

"If there's a moral to this legal incident, it's this: know the terms of your licensing before you agree to use it."

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Via Techdirt, an unsuccessful lawsuit by a photographer who posted a photo under a Creative Commons license ... and then regretted it.  Stor...

"Her return caps a fraught eight months with Bruguera held in virtual detention in Cuba "

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Tania Bruguera is back in the U.S .
Thursday, August 20, 2015

What if they called it appropriation art? (UPDATED)

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So there's a new public artwork in China that seems to be a blatant ripoff of Anish Kapoor's famous "Cloud Gate" sculptur...

"Rising auction prices for paintings in recent years have reinforced the widespread belief that art markets are irrational and arbitrary."

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" This column discusses new evidence that decisively rejects this belief ."

Marion True ... (UPDATED)

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... is back . UPDATE:  Some thoughts from Derek Fincham at the Illicit Cultural Property Blog.

"The robbers removed the bust from its pedestal, slipped it into a paper bag, and walked off."

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artnet news:  $300,000 Rodin Bust Stolen From Danish Museum in Broad Daylight .
Wednesday, August 19, 2015

"[I]t’s hard to imagine how anyone can look at a piece of art like that and just want to paint it out." (UPDATED)

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VARA suit in Oakland . UPDATE:  Here's another, similar case in Santa Cruz.  The initial claim was for $375,000.  They settled for $3...

"I think it’s a nitpicky thing to dwell on. The tax doesn’t even begin to compare to the value of the painting I’m going to give away."

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That's Elaine Wynn, quoted in this article by Jori Finkel this weekend, on the tax loophole she "inadvertently called attention to...

"Still, Mr. de Blasio acknowledged that reining in the desnudas was complicated by the protections afforded to artistic expression by the First Amendment."

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Trouble in Times Square .

"The film suggests that his deception was enabled by the skewed economic incentives of the art world, where the authentication of a painting has the potential to reap financial rewards."

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Well, yeah.  New documentary out about the art forger Beltracchi .  New York Times review here .
Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Speaking of mischief ...

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... while I was away last week, the authorities cracked the biggest case of art-related mischief of them all:  the Gardner Heist. Okay, ma...
Monday, August 17, 2015

"This is the latest in a still small string of cases in which graffiti artists are asserting their copyright in US courts." (UPDATED)

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Laura Gilbert in The Art Newspaper:   Brooklyn street artist sues over Katy Perry's graffitied Met gala gown . Who knew that street ar...

"By the end of 'The Art of Forgery,' you realize that forgeries are everywhere."

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Mischief everywhere! "Once you’ve been clued in to the world of art forgery and recovered from the excitement of a good caper, you’re...

"Gasiunasen has two pending lawsuits related to monetary disputes over consigned art."

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More (alleged) financial mischief:   Former Palm Beach art dealer sued .

"Not only has Chelsea gallery Hasted Kraeutler folded amid rumors of financial mischief ..."

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" . . . there is now a lawsuit brought by John A. Kraeulter against the gallery and others for $522,000 ."