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The Art Law Report Providing timely updates and commentary on legal issues in the museum and visual arts communities

Monthly Archives: September 2012

“Flea Market Renoir” May Have Been Stolen Decades Ago, Confusion Abounds

By Nicholas O'Donnell on Posted in Collections, Connoisseurship, Forgery, Standing

What was the feel-good, ersatz Antiques-Roadshow story of the summer may soon be one of the most prominent art law issues in the country.  A painting by Pierre-Auguste Renoir entitled “Paysage Bords de Seine” that was purchased at a flea market in 2010 for $7 and authenticated this year as genuine may turn out to… Continue Reading

Change to New York Art Consignment Statute Adds Protections, Risks

By Nicholas O'Donnell on Posted in Collections, Consignment, Legislation, Trusts

New York has passed an amendment to its Arts & Cultural Affairs law, N.Y. Arts & Cult. Aff. Law §12.01(2012), that is important for artist, galleries, and dealers alike.  It affects the consignment relationship and creates critical new duties—and liabilities, for the dealer on consignment.  Most importantly, it makes using any form of agreement drafted… Continue Reading

Happy (early) Birthday to the Art Law Report!

By Nicholas O'Donnell on Posted in Collections, Copyright, Cultural Property, Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act, Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Immunity from Seizure Act, Restitution

We launched the Art Law Report one year ago tomorrow.  Several dozen posts, thousands of visitors and many more views later, a very special thank you to everyone who has read and followed the blog.  The connections made literally all around the world are humbling and enlightening.  We continue to strive to provide an interesting… Continue Reading

“Restitution and Repatriation, the Return of Cultural Objects” at DePaul University Next Month

By Nicholas O'Donnell on Posted in Antiquities, Cultural Property, Restitution, World War II

Next month’s symposium at DePaul University College of Law Center for Art, Museum & Cultural Heritage Law entitled “Restitution and Repatriation, the Return of Cultural Objects” looks terrific.  The keynote speaker will be Lynn Nicholas of The Rape of Europa fame, and other topics include provenance research, museum acquisitions, and the moral and ethical quandaries posed… Continue Reading

Velvet Underground’s Copyright Claim Against Warhol Foundation is Dismissed, Trademark Case Goes On

By Nicholas O'Donnell on Posted in Copyright, Intellectual Property, Trademark

The U.S. District Court in Manhattan has dismissed the copyright claim filed by the Velvet Underground against the Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts over the iconic “banana” image from the cover of the legendary The Velvet Underground and Nico album.  Without reaching the merits of the claim, the court ruled that the Velvet Underground had… Continue Reading

U.S. Asks Court Not to Sanction Russian Defendants in Chabad Library Case—What Now?

By Nicholas O'Donnell on Posted in Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Restitution, World War II

Casting further doubt on the practical possibility of using the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) to recover cultural artifacts, the U.S. Government has at long last weighed in on the Chabad plaintiffs’ request for contempt sanctions against the Russian defendants, defendants who have defied for more than two years a judgment to return the library of… Continue Reading