"The bill comes with the blessing of more than 100 organizations, including some of the most prominent art schools in the country" (UPDATED)

Brian Boucher reports on the proposed American Arts Revival Act, which "would assist arts workers nationwide in paying down their student debt."  More from Jillian Steinhauer here. Paddy Johnson says: "I see no chance of this ever passing."

UPDATE:  Michael Rushton tweets:  "This is (1) inequitable across students carrying debt, and (2) creates all manner of moral hazard problems. If the state wants to support artists and arts presenters, do so directly. Stay away from narrowly focused, discriminatory, gimmicky aid."

"Collector sues Christie’s for cancelling David Hammons sale"

Dan Duray has the story in The Art Newspaper.

"The dispute dates to March 11 when five staff members sent a letter to the board accusing Mr. Dadone of misdirecting funds intended for educational programs, failing to deliver on programs promised to donors, violating labor laws and engaging in a pattern of abusive behavior toward subordinates."

NYT:  Mass Resignations Embroil Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art.

Awards for Fearless Girl!

For, er, advertising:

"Clark also cited the business results for State Street, including a 374 percent increase in the size of the so-called SHE fund—State Street’s SSGA Gender Diversity Index."

"Exhumation of Salvador Dalí’s Body Ordered in Paternity Case"

"Pilar Abel, a Tarot card reader, wants to be recognized as Dalí’s daughter, born as a result of what she has called a 'clandestine love affair' that her mother had with the painter in the late 1950s in Port Lligat, the fishing village where Dalí and his Russian-born wife, Gala, built a waterfront house."

"Art Forger Is Accused of Selling Fake Prints. Again."

"Just 15 days after being released from prison, a ubiquitous forger started selling phony art again, the authorities said."

Motion to dismiss denied in Golub fraud case

Story here.  For background, start here.

"In the cultivated Hamptons, this is a vile act of desecration against art.”

Larry Rivers's "Legs" sculpture in Sag Harbor was recently vandalized by red paint.  Page Six has the story here.

Coincidentally, the Center for Art Law is hosting a screening of a documentary on the piece ("Legs: A Big Issue in a Small Town") on June 22, with a panel discussion, moderated by Adelaide Dunn (Advanced Topics in Art Law Class of 2016), to follow.  Register here.  An article by Dunn on the film is here.  Trailer here.  Facebook event page here.

Fake News

A show of (and on) fakes, at the Winterthur Museum.

Here's what can happen when you say a work is fake

Dealer Gerald Peters is "suing one of the world’s largest Western American art auctions, a Nevada gallery and others for defamation, accusing them of falsely claiming a $1 million painting he sold is a fake."

Art Basel Sues Adidas

Art Newspaper story here.

"The truck was parked outside his studio in Long Island City. The next day, when he went outside, the truck was missing."

"A sculpture made to debut in the Taubman Museum of Art’s atrium Thursday was stolen from outside the artist’s New York studio, museum officials said."

"I'm brave enough to call it a Jackson Pollock and put my entire reputation on it."

The Arizona Republic:  Painting pulled from Arizona garage may be a Jackson Pollock worth $10 million.

The Art Market Monitor says "the story seems plausible until you get to his experts. Peter Paul Biro came to prominence through his claims to have discovered Leonardo’s finger prints in the pigment of a painting."

For more on Biro, see here.

Apparently, in Italy, museum directorships are held in the public trust

See here.

Sauce for the goose

"Pissed-off artist adds statue of urinating dog next to ‘Fearless Girl.'"

"Gardner Museum Doubles Reward for Recovery of Stolen Masterpieces"

To $10 million.   I'm trying to imagine the person who had relevant information who wasn't interested in sharing it for $5 million, but now, for $10 million, is finally ready to speak up, but I guess you never know.

An effective altruism analysis of Mike Bloomberg's $75 million donation to The Shed

From Felix Salmon.

"Often you never really know which art pieces are genuine and which are not."

A museum of fakes, in the Netherlands.

"There’s no officially sanctioned art-industry watchdog in the vein of the SEC, or even a universally accepted set of best practices for sellers and representatives to abide by."

"Yet all of the normal laws of commercial transactions still apply."

Tim Schneider on the myth that the art market is "unregulated."

Fair Enough

Sergio Muñoz Sarmiento calls attention to an interesting student note on the College Art Association's "Code of Best Practices in Fair Use."

I had some thoughts on the usefulness of the Code here.