Art Law

Subscribe to Art Law

UNITED STATES

Police Arrest Oxford Professor for Allegedly Selling Stolen Goods to the Museum of the Bible
Dirk Obbink, Ph.D., an associate professor in papyrology and Greek literature at Oxford, England, has been accused of stealing ancient papyrus fragments from Oxford University’s Sackler Library and selling 13 of the texts to the owners of the Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC. …
Continue Reading A Case for Indiana Jones: Oxford Professor Arrested for Allegedly Selling Stolen Goods & Other Art World Headlines

GLOBAL

Art Market Reacting to the Global Pandemic
“May You Live in Interesting Times” was the title of the art world’s 58th Venice Biennale of 2019, a reference to an ancient curse and a comment on the complexities of modern political and social life. Year 2020 has now taken this complexity to a whole new level, with the novel coronavirus having a devastating effect on artists, businesses and art organizations.

…
Continue Reading The Art World Takes on the New Normal and Other Headlines

UNITED STATES

$6.75 Million Award for 5Pointz Aerosol Artists Affirmed on Appeal
Two years ago, in one of the most important decisions applying the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 (VARA) since its adoption, New York’s Eastern District awarded $6.75 million in statutory damages to 21 graffiti artists whose aerosol works were intentionally destroyed by the owner of the buildings on which they were painted.…
Continue Reading $6.75 Million Award for 5Pointz Aerosol Artists Affirmed on Appeal and Other Headlines

BREAKING

UK Adopts Anti−Money Laundering Regulations for Art Dealers and Auction Houses
This January, the UK ratified new legislation that introduced, largely without modification, the EU’s Fifth Money Laundering Directive, which imposes new compliance obligations on art market participants.

…
Continue Reading UK Introduces Money Laundering Regulations to the Art Market and Other Headlines

UNITED STATES

Fearless Girl Statue Caught in Further Legal Battle − This Time in Australia
The bronze “Fearless Girl” statue originally appeared in Bowling Green, a small public park in New York City, in 2017, posed in a face off against the Charging Bull statue (Wall Street Bull). The Fearless Girl became a world-famous symbol of diversity and female representation on Wall Street. Presently, the statue’s creator, Kristen Visbal, is embroiled in several legal battles with State Street Global Advisors, which purchased the first statue and say they own the sculpture’s image and name. State Street commenced suit against Visbal in February 2019, alleging trademark infringement over replicas that Visbal created in London, Oslo and Stevensville, Maryland. It is now challenging a replica that law firm Maurice Blackburn commissioned to display in Melbourne’s Federation Square. State Street argues that it originally conceived and launched the project and that Visbal “weakened the message” of the work by selling replicas.…
Continue Reading Fearless Girl Statue Caught in Further Legal Battle − This Time in Australia

AMERICAS

Anti−Money Laundering Compliance Bill for the Antiquities Market
The proposed legislation, officially called the Corporate Transparency Act of 2019, passed the House of Representatives on October 22 and is now being reviewed by the Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. The bill is part of a broader effort to combat money laundering and terrorist financing in the United States and Europe.

…
Continue Reading U.S. Considers Anti−Money Laundering Bill for Antiquities Market, Following EU’s Lead and Other Headlines

BREAKING:

The following summaries of news articles are separated by geographic region for your browsing convenience.

UNITED STATES

Suspected Nazi-Looted Painting Turned Over to FBI by New York Museum
According to the FBI, Gari Melchers’s painting Winter, which was in the collection of the Arkell Museum in New York, was allegedly looted by the Nazis from Jewish media mogul Rudolf Mosse.…
Continue Reading New York Museum Turns Over Possible Nazi-Looted Art to FBI and Other Art Headlines

BREAKING:
Italian Appellate Court Allows Loan of Leonardo’s Fragile Vitruvian Man Sketch to Louvre
In early October, in a potential blow to the Louvre’s October 24, 2019, opening of its Leonardo da Vinci retrospective marking the 500th anniversary of his death, an Italian court blocked the loan of Vitruvian Man, after Italia Nostra, an Italian heritage organization, challenged the loan under Italian laws prohibiting museums from loaning works that are “integral to their collections” or works that are “susceptible to damage in transport or when on display in unfavorable environmental conditions.” …
Continue Reading Leonardo’s Fragile Vitruvian Man Will Travel to The Louvre After All and Other Art Headlines

UNITED STATES

Golden Coffin on Display at the Met Is Going Back to Egypt
The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s golden coffin is worth nearly $4 million and originally held the remains of an influential 1st century BC priest, Nedjemankh. Recent investigations determined that the coffin was stolen from the Minya region in Egypt in 2011 during a political uprising. Smugglers took the object to Germany by way of Dubai, then to France where a Parisian dealer sold it to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in July 2017.

…
Continue Reading Golden Coffin to Be Returned to Egypt and Other Headlines