Saturday, December 01, 2018

"People thought maybe I was rash and should put it down to one of life’s rich experiences. But people defrauding other people, especially in the art market, should not be allowed to get away with it."

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Andy Hall won his fraud trial against a former college professor and her son who sold him a series of paintings they claimed were by Leon Go...

"An Artist Bought a Banksy Piece Just So He Could Destroy It"

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Story here .  He paid $730,000 for it and says he plans to whitewash it … and then sell it for a million dollars. Banksy can invoke VARA t...
Saturday, November 03, 2018

"If the number and relevance of galleries were to decline, how might this affect artistic content?"

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Tyler Cowen has some hypotheses and, like all his hypotheses, they're worth considering.

"A Cunning Husband-and-Wife Duo Sold Hundreds of Forged Artworks in Finland."

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" Now, They Are Headed to Prison ."

Answer: yes

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The Nation:  Can You Copyright a Quilt?

Tell me again about the public trust (one museum's 19th century photo sale seems to be the Met's gain edition)

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The Times reports on a sale of a group of Carleton Watkins photographs by the Hispanic Society in New York to an "unknown donor" ...
Saturday, October 27, 2018

"Engelmayer found that it was too early to say whether or not Viktor would be able to prove in a non-speculative fashion that the use of her work had influenced sales of the single and album, because the discovery process is still ongoing in the case."

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Artist Lina Iris Viktor survives a motion for summary judgment on a key damages issue in her infringement suit against Kendrick Lamar.  You...

"Terms of the agreement between the estate and the studio were not immediately made available."

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A settlement in the Ana Mendieta-Suspiria lawsuit. Nailed this one .
Saturday, October 20, 2018

Tell me again about the public trust (three paintings by Georgia O'Keeffe edition)

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Because they are assuredly not held in the public trust, to be accessible to present and future generations, the three paintings, by Georg...

"Gagosian filed a motion to dismiss in the New York State Supreme Court, asserting that Tananbaum is a 'highly sophisticated art collector' who is aware of Koons’s reputation as 'a perfectionist who often takes years' to make his sculptures."

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Story here . This is the one with the ouroboros .

"This really was not a good fraud. They clearly did not think this all the way through."

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AP :  "A fine art consultant in New York and an interior designer in Florida stole an elderly woman’s identity and used it to bid milli...

"These memorandums make some good arguments, explaining why fair use favors his uses and why he did not make significant alterations to the Instagram photos. Whether the district court agrees with these arguments is another story."

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Krista Cox at Above the Law on the latest developments in the ongoing Richard Prince lawsuit.

"The Legal Implications of Banksy's Destruction of 'Girl with Balloon'"

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From Sheppard Mullin . The bottom line:  "Since the art work was damaged while under the possession of Sotheby’s, under the UCC, it i...
Friday, October 12, 2018

"In two cases testing copyright law in social media, the artist Richard Prince is asking a federal court in Manhattan to rule that two of his Instagram-based works constitute fair use of photographs taken by others."

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Laura Gilbert has the story in The Art Newspaper: "Last year a US District Court judge rejected Prince’s motion to dismiss Graham’s...
Thursday, October 04, 2018

"Rybolovlev’s companies sued Sotheby’s Tuesday in Manhattan federal court, alleging that the auction house 'materially assisted the largest art fraud in history.'"

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Bloomberg :  Billionaire Slaps Sotheby's With $380 Million Lawsuit. Some background here .
Wednesday, October 03, 2018

Last Berkshire Museum Appeal Rejected

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On standing grounds.  Story here .  Some background here .
Tuesday, October 02, 2018

Preliminary injunction granted in MoMA trademark suit (UPDATED)

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Against a tea place called MoMaCha.  Story here .   Background here . UPDATE:  More from the New York Times.
Monday, October 01, 2018

"Amazon Sued Over Use of Artist’s Work in ‘Suspiria’"

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The artist is Ana Mendieta; Suspiria is the new movie by Luca Guadagnino (who directed last year's Call Me By Your Name ), a remake of ...

Summary Judgment Denied in the G.M. Graffiti Lawsuit

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Story (and copy of the decision) here .  As mentioned here , G.M. had argued that there couldn't be infringement because the graffiti wa...

"I have been introducing the ART Act since 2011 and I’m proud to join my colleagues in introducing this bipartisan, bicameral version of the legislation this congress"

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The American Royalties Too Act is being reintroduced .  I'm not a fan of the Act (for reasons mentioned here ), but there is a version o...

"Ms. Abramovic was leaving a book signing at the Palazzo Strozzi, in Florence, which is hosting Italy’s first major retrospective of her art, when a man slammed a paper portrait he had made of Ms. Abramovic over her head."

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NY Times story here .  Abramovic says she was stunned but unhurt and has not pressed charges.

"Ezra Chowaiki was sentenced Thursday in federal court in Manhattan to 18 months in prison and three years of supervised release for defrauding art dealers and collectors of millions of dollars."

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" He was also ordered to give up his interest in more than 20 works of art involved in the fraud, including pieces by Picasso and Alexa...

"We didn’t feel the decision was the correct one. The nature of graffiti in itself is to paint over itself constantly, and [the artists] made reference to that and it’s what happened over the 27 odd years.”

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Appeal filed in the 5Pointz VARA case .
Saturday, September 22, 2018

"One focal point of the debate has been 'BRAT,' a huge sculpture said to have been Indiana’s last monumental work, designed not as a homage to an ethereal concept like Mr. Indiana’s 'LOVE' or 'HOPE,' but to the humble bratwurst."

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NYT :  "Just how much control did the artist Robert Indiana have over his work during the last years of his life?"
Saturday, September 15, 2018

"Defamation lawsuit over alleged fake Western painting tossed"

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The case was brought by dealer Gerald Peters.  Story here .  Background here .

"The agreement states that the art and the cash gift must be returned if the Corcoran 'has not complied with the conditions.'"

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A donor intent case involving a gift to the Corcoran.

"As part of the settlement, the company agreed to fund a number of Detroit art institutions and charities"

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A settlement in the H&M street art lawsuit (mentioned earlier here ).  H&M should have read this before their ad campaign.

Step One: Don't infringe graffiti copyrights

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IP Watchdog:   Preventing a Graffiti Copyright Infringement Lawsuit .

"Artist Plans to Sue Property Owner Who Painted Over Chicano Mural in San Jose’s East Side"

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Next up on the VARA docket.

"I said, ‘Well you could destroy it, you could sell it, I can send it your other gallery.'" (UPDATED)

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Artnet:   Artist Hank Willis Thomas Pulls Work From a South African Art Fair After a Photographer Levels Plagiarism Charges . UPDATE:  Bri...
Tuesday, September 11, 2018

Headline of the Day

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Museum Boss Fears Philly Insect Heist Was an Inside Job .
Wednesday, August 29, 2018

VARA Dismissal Affirmed

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The Second Circuit has affirmed the dismissal of the VARA suit over the removal of a sculpture from Trinity Church in downtown Manhattan. ...
Thursday, August 23, 2018

Due Process

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An exhibition and related events , curated by Alexandra Perloff-Giles.
Thursday, August 09, 2018

"So here’s the upshot: in a resale royalties scheme, 99% of artists will likely lose, so that the top 1% can win. This reverse-Robin Hood story is not some bug in the system -- it is its main feature."

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Chris Sprigman and Guy Rub make the case against resale royalties for artists: "We collected data representing all sales at public a...
Monday, August 06, 2018

The Times had a critical piece yesterday on donor-advised funds ...

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... which are commonly used in the art world.  The story is here . Harvard's Greg Mankiw (convincingly) finds it "unconvincing...
Sunday, August 05, 2018

"Split decision in lawsuit over forged paintings sold by ex-Franklin Pierce professor and her son"

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Story here : "In a detailed ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Steven McAuliffe dismissed the warranty claim Hall had brought, conclud...

"Adrian Ellis has offered what I think is one of the best ways to address the deaccessioning dilemma."

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Museum consultant Bob Beatty has a piece up at Hyperallergic on "the deaccessioning debate in museums."  As evidenced by his appr...

"How Robert Indiana’s Caretaker Came to Control His Artistic Legacy"

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NYT story here .  Background here .

"Decision should put decade-long legal battle between museum and heirs of art dealer Jacques Goudstikker 'to rest'"

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The Norton Simon-Von Saher litigation, which I wrote about for the Journal of Art Crime all the way back in 2010 , appears to finally be o...
Wednesday, July 18, 2018

"G.M. Used Graffiti in a Car Ad. Should the Artist Be Paid?"

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The New York Times reports : "Mr. Falkner’s case is set to turn on another unsettled question of copyright law. Last month, lawyers f...
Saturday, July 14, 2018

"A new criminal case was recently opened in Geneva after a fraud complaint was filed in late 2015 by an unnamed industrialist from the Baltic region, who has accused an art dealer of overcharging for works by artists such as Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse and Alberto Giacometti."

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" This may sound like a familiar story, but it has nothing to do with the battle between Yves Bouvier and Dmitry Rybolovlev. "

"Monterey’s Dalí17, which displays the 500-work private collection of the Ukrainian-born real estate developer Dimitry Piterman, features the Surrealist’s face—complete with upturned moustache—on its logo."

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The Art Newspaper:  Dalí foundation sues California museum for use of artist’s name and image . Brandon Butler tweets :  "This lawsui...

"Now Ms. Columbus, 43, has filed a complaint with the New York City Commission on Human Rights, asserting the museum discriminated against her in violation of the city’s laws on caregivers, pregnancy and women’s rights."

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NYT:  Curator Says MoMA PS1 Wanted Her, Until She Had a Baby . Paddy Johnson comments here .

"The Wayfair decision looks like a sales tax game-changer for many New York galleries."

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Says Tom Danziger in this artnet piece on a recent Supreme Court decision involving the power of states to require out-of-state sellers to ...

"Having determined that the face of plaintiff’s sculpture is distinct, original, and protected, we find that defendant’s use was infringing."

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Here's an interesting one:  the US Postal Service owes an artist $3.5 million for using what they thought was a photo of the Statue of ...

Berkshire Update

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At the Center for Art Law, Jennie Nadel has a good summary of where things stand. The Berkshire Eagle says a " new era " for th...

More on the California Resale Royalty Decision

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Lots of coverage over the last week.  Nicholas O'Donnell has a very good, comprehensive overview of the twists and turns the case has t...
Friday, July 06, 2018

"Our decision today means the CRRA had a short effective life."

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BREAKING:  Ninth Circuit rules that the California resale royalty law is preempted by the 1976 Copyright Act (so -- at most -- the plaintif...
Tuesday, June 26, 2018

"Sir Anish Kapoor’s Clenched Fist of Copyright, the Battle Over Fair Use, and the NRA"

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Sergio Muñoz Sarmiento, writing at Hyperallergic , on Anish Kapoor's lawsuit against the NRA. Related:  Mike Masnick at Techdirt: ...
Friday, June 22, 2018

"But the imperious demands of a multimillionaire who no longer wants to wait cannot trump the plain and unambiguous language of the Purchase Agreements, which do not require Mr. Koons to create the Works by any specified deadline."

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Artnews:   Gagosian Gallery Files Motion to Dismiss Steven Tananbaum’s Jeff Koons ‘Non-Delivery’ Lawsuit . This is the one with the ourobo...

"Anish Kapoor Sues NRA for Copyright Infringement of Bean Sculpture"

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Artnews story here .  They use it in an ad. Sergio Muñoz Sarmiento thinks Kapoor is trying to use copyright to censor speech. IP profes...

"In such a polarised climate, should auction houses and dealers not pay their dues to the artists from whom they profit?"

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In The Art Newspaper last week, Anny Shaw uses P. Diddy's recent purchase at auction of a Kerry James Marshall painting for $21 million ...
Thursday, June 14, 2018

"A New York City real estate developer who demolished the famed graffiti space 5Pointz won't get a new trial, after a federal judge Wednesday issued a scathing opinion that blasted the owner for lying in court and other 'egregious behavior.'"

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Law360:   No New Trial Over 5Pointz Graffiti Destruction, Judge Says : "The ruling paves the way for Wolkoff to take the case to the ...
Tuesday, June 12, 2018

"The court found the graffiti was 'never fully visible, let alone legible,' even when the video was paused, because it appeared on screen for less than three seconds, in the background, at an oblique angle, and in low, uneven light."

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Frankfurt Kurnit's Brian Murphy on the dismissal of a recent copyright case on de minimis grounds.  Full decision here .

"Shane Campbell Looks to File a $15 Million Class Action Lawsuit Against Frieze for ‘Unbearable’ Heat" (UPDATED)

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Story here . UPDATE:  Sergio Muñoz Sarmiento tweets :  "Guess the $10 Starbucks gift card wasn’t enough?"
Friday, June 08, 2018

"I spent hours researching it, and I concluded that Arcis is a tax-free zone in search of a tax.”

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A Longreads read on the new "freeport" in Harlem.

"This action arises from a greedy, malevolent, fraudulent, bad-faith and (unfortunately) successful scheme to financially devastate the Estate and, indirectly, Belinda, by destroying the value of the Estate’s most valuable asset — Jean-Michel Basquiat’s masterpiece, ‘Flesh and Spirit.'"

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The next round in a dispute over a Basquiat sold at Sotheby's last month. For round one, see here . The painting sold for $30.7 milli...
Wednesday, June 06, 2018

Because we said so, that's why

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I've been meaning to link to the AAMD's statement regarding their imposition of sanctions on the Berkshire Museum and the La Salle ...

"In its present form, the AAM’s deaccessioning policy hinders—rather than facilitates—access to one of America’s greatest sources of cultural capital: the art museum."

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Outdated Rules Are Killing Museums—Here’s How Things Can Change .
Tuesday, May 29, 2018

"The day before Mr. Indiana died, Morgan Art Foundation, a company that says it has long held the rights to several of his best-known works, filed a federal lawsuit alleging that Mr. Thomas and a New York art publisher had isolated Mr. Indiana from the world and produced unauthorized or adulterated versions of his art."

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Story here .

Still in the Public Trust (Part III)

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The Berkshire Museum's Church is going to ... the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts . Oh the unethicality.  When will it stop? E...
Saturday, May 19, 2018

Still in the Public Trust (Part II)

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The Berkshire Museum's Calder is going to ... the Calder Foundation. Oh, it's just so unethical.
Wednesday, May 16, 2018

Still in the Public Trust

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ARTnews:  Lucas Museum to Begin Loan of ‘Shuffleton’s Barbershop’—Painting at Center of Berkshire Museum Firestorm—to Norman Rockwell Museum...
Saturday, May 12, 2018

Found One

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I've mentioned a couple times that, so far as I was aware, no member of the Deaccession Police had had anything negative to say about ...
Wednesday, May 09, 2018

"Instead of being decided by judges and juries, cases will be heard by arbitrators who are seasoned lawyers familiar with industry practice and issues specific to art disputes."

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The Art Newspaper :  "A new body dedicated exclusively to resolving art disputes, the Court of Arbitration for Art (CAA), will be forma...

"A Monkey Can’t Hold Copyright."

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" But What About a Robot? "
Monday, May 07, 2018

Are dealers about to be regulated?

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Eileen Kinsella reports that they might be. Tim Schneider has some concerns : "To be perfectly honest, I’m not that worried about ...

Guilty Plea in Chowaiki Case

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One count of wire fraud .  "The prosecution and defense have agreed to ask the judge for a sentence of between four years and three mon...

"Collector Sues Sotheby’s to Block Basquiat Auction, Exposing Ugly Family Dispute" (UPDATED)

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New York Times story here . UPDATE:  Dismissed .

"Aspen judge issues arrest warrant for suspect in 2017 art slashing"

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He's the owner of the painting's son .

"Never wear synthetic fibers while making a forgery."

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Advice from Jamie Martin, profiled in the New York Times here .
Friday, May 04, 2018

"In the context of the grotesque harm that the law allows humans to inflict on numerous animals, there is something profoundly misguided—even perverse—about suing for the copyright royalties from a monkey selfie."

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" Given PETA’s tendency to engage in (frequently misogynistic) publicity stunts, one cannot help but think that the point of the Naruto...
Thursday, May 03, 2018

A Highly Ethical Post

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Since the Deaccession Police all seem to be on vacation or busy at the art fairs, I thought I would do them a favor and make the case agains...
Tuesday, May 01, 2018

In fairness to the museum, the other half appear to be real

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NYT:   French Museum Discovers More Than Half Its Collection Is Fake .

Another VARA mural suit

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This one in Pittsburgh. Earlier this week it was Memphis . Related .

Another Koons-Gagosian Lawsuit

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This one brought by film producer Joel Silver. No mention of ouroboros in this one, so far as I'm aware.
Monday, April 30, 2018

More on the Utterly Noncontroversial Baltimore Museum Deaccessioning

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Artnet's Julia Halperin has more on the Baltimore Museum's decision to sell works by Warhol, Rauschenberg, "and other 20th-ce...
Saturday, April 28, 2018

"L.A. Artist Suing Old Navy for Ripping Off Her Work"

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Story here , including a tweet from Neil Gaiman saying "Incredibly bad choice by Old Navy. Apologise, pay the artist, don't be dick...

Tell me again about the public crust

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New York City is getting a pizza museum .

VARA suit in Memphis

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Story here . Not unrelated recent news here .

"The settlement requires Michael to pay the sales and use taxes on certain works of art, along with interest and some penalties, and the case will be completely resolved."

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NY Post:  Developer Michael Shvo settles arts sales tax case for $3.5 milli on. Background here .
Thursday, April 26, 2018

Tell me again about the public trust (Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority edition)

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One of my favorite bits of nonsense in the whole web of nonsense that makes up the discussion around "the public trust" is that wh...
Tuesday, April 24, 2018

"This monkey — and all animals, since they are not human — lacks statutory standing under the Copyright Act."

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The Ninth Circuit rules against the monkey in the monkey selfie case .
Monday, April 23, 2018

Ann Althouse has questions about the new Koons-Gagosian lawsuit

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And they are : "What were the terms of the contract you signed, you rich knucklehead? And: Is the complaint a work of art? And: Why c...
Saturday, April 21, 2018

MoMA sues a matcha cafe

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Called MoMaCha .

Fearless Girl Update (UPDATED)

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The Fearless Girl sculpture (background here ) is moving, but there are conflicting reports about whether the Charging Bull is going with it...
Thursday, April 19, 2018

"In a case that is bound to rock the art world, a prominent New York collector and art patron has sued two giants of the art market in New York Supreme Court this morning ..."

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" . . . charging the Gagosian Gallery, Inc. and Jeff Koons, LLC for the 'non-delivery' of three multimillion-dollar Jeff Koons ...

"The Berkshire Museum saga is headed toward a happy ending"

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The Boston Globe's Jeff Jacoby (seen earlier here ) cheers the outcome of the Berkshire Museum dispute, saying "it looks as though...
Monday, April 16, 2018

Tell me again about the public trust (Baltimore Museum of Art edition)

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The Baltimore Museum of Art is selling works by five artists you might have heard of: Andy Warhol Robert Rauschenberg Franz Kline Kenn...

The monkey selfie case is back on

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The Ninth Circuit plans to issue its ruling, despite the parties' settlement.  Story here .  Background here . At PrawfsBlawg, Howard W...

"The crime has remained unsolved since it occurred in 1988; no arrests have been made, and none of the artworks have surfaced"

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" Until now ."
Saturday, April 14, 2018

The Ellis Rule in Action

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Those who are deeply, deeply concerned that works, once held in the public trust, remain held in the public trust must have been happy to ha...
Thursday, April 12, 2018

Oral argument in the California Resale Royalties Case

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Story here .  You can watch it here (if you're a big preemption fan). Background here .  Remember this is just about sales within Cal...
Saturday, April 07, 2018

"The copy is the original"

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" In China and Japan, temples may be rebuilt and ancient warriors cast again. There is nothing sacred about the ‘original’ "

"Biggest Fake Native American Art Conspiracy Revealed"

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National Geographic has a detailed look.

"H&M’s battle with the artist Revok shows how street art is being taken seriously"

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Good piece (though a couple weeks old) from the Washington Post on the case I mentioned here , including this from NYU's Jeanne Fromer:...

"If a building owner finds itself in a position where it must remove art protected by VARA and no written VARA waiver was obtained, the owner should proceed cautiously and in good faith in the destruction or removal of the art."

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"For example, notice should be provided to the artist of the landlord’s intention to remove the art, ample time should be provided for ...

"Art Dealers Strike Back at Artist Cady Noland in an Increasingly Philosophical Legal Dispute About a Restored Sculpture" (UPDATED)

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Julia Halperin has the story here .  Background here .  Apparently one issue in the case is whether the sculpture -- Log Cabin (1990) -- can...

Agnes Martin Authentication Suit Dismissed

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Story here .  Background here . Artnet's Eileen Kinsella says "that exhalation you just heard is the sound of art authentication...
Thursday, April 05, 2018

Over (UPDATED)

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The Berkshire Museum Gets the Final Green Light to Sell Works From Its Collection, Ending a Closely Watched Saga . UPDATE;  Rounding up so...