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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: November 2012

Lawsuit Claims Metropolitan Museum’s Voluntary Admissions Policy is Deceptive

By Nicholas O'Donnell on Posted in Litigation, Museums

A complaint filed against the Metropolitan Museum of Art over its admissions fee policy is gaining widespread coverage.  Although the headlines center on the plaintiffs’ allegations of fraud, Theodore Grunewald and Patricia Nicholson (the two plaintiffs) also put forward several other legal theories. The Met stands in Central Park as part of an agreement with the… Continue Reading

Charles Schumer’s Co-Sponsorship of Senate Bill 2212 Could Signal Movement

By Nicholas O'Donnell on Posted in Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act, Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Legislation, Senate Bill 2212

The federal register this week noted the addition on November 27, 2012 of Charles Schumer, New York’s senior Senator, as a co-sponsor of Senate Bill 2212, the Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act, the proposed amendment to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act that would exempt from the FSIA the loan of certain cultural objects… Continue Reading

“Canyon” Update—Rauschenberg’s Bald Eagle Collage Goes to MoMA, Tax Dispute Resolved

By Nicholas O'Donnell on Posted in Tax

As posted at the Art Law Report two weeks ago, a settlement of the IRS dispute over Robert Rauschenberg’s work “Canyon”—which incorporates a stuffed bald eagle, thus implicating criminal statutes prohibiting any sale or transfer of the national bird—has been announced publicly.  According to public reports, the heirs of Ileana Sonnabend, who inherited the work… Continue Reading

Combining the Nazi Theft Exception in Senate Bill 2212 with Immunity from Seizure: Good Policy or Inconsistent Law?

By Nicholas O'Donnell on Posted in Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act, Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Immunity from Seizure Act, Restitution, Senate Bill 2212, World War II

Opposition to Senate Bill 2212, the Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act (a bill the Art Law Report favors in its frequent commentaries) has been renewed recently.  Senate Bill 2212 (already passed by the House of Representatives) would remove the mere display of a work of art in the United States as a satisfactory… Continue Reading

5th Annual Art Litigation and Dispute Resolution Practice Institute November 16, 2012

By Nicholas O'Donnell on Posted in Events, Legislation, Restitution

I’ll be winging my way to Houston, but otherwise I would be at the New York County Lawyers’ Association’s 5th Annual Art Litigation and Dispute Resolution Practice Institute event on Friday, November 16, 2012.  Anyone interested should not miss it. The agenda will be as follows: Panel 1:   The Law and Business of Sculpture and… Continue Reading

Possible Settlement of IRS Dispute Over Rauschenberg’s “Canyon”

By Nicholas O'Donnell on Posted in Events, Tax

At Friday’s outstanding Art Law Day presented by the Appraisers Association of America, among the highlights were talks by Ralph Lerner and Judith Bresler, co-authors of the indispensable Art Law (just published in its fourth edition).  As part of a panel on Philanthropy and the Law, Lerner gave a notable update on one of the… Continue Reading

Does Jenack Decision Really Require Disclosure of Seller’s Name? Yes, if the Buyer Won’t Pay

By Nicholas O'Donnell on Posted in Uncategorized

The Jenack decision addressed recently at the Art Law Report has been the subject of intense comment and criticism since being widely reported.  Donn Zaretsky’s roundup of the commentary raises an interesting and important question, with analysis from Jonathan Olsoff of Sotheby’s and Jo Laird, former general counsel at Christie’s.  Namely, does the decision actually… Continue Reading

Hans Sachs Collection Epilogue: Posters to Go on Sale in New York at Guernsey’s

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

The Hans Sachs collection that the Bundesgerichtshof in Karlsruhe ordered in March be returned to the Sachs heirs will be put up for auction in New York.  The collection had more than 12,000 posters by artist that included Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Ludwig Hohlwein, Lucian Bernhard and Jules Cheret.  The Deutsches Historisches Museum in Berlin, a… Continue Reading

New Sullivan & Worcester LLP Client Advisory on Consignment Law in New York

By Nicholas O'Donnell on Posted in Consignment

Please see our most recent client advisory from the Art & Museum Law Group at Sullivan & Worcester LLP.  Building on recent posts here, the advisory addresses recent statutory changes to and judicial interpretation of the law governing sales on consignment, including auctions in particular.

German Art Law Updates from the Dispute Resolution in Germany Blog

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

For those of us trying to follow art law developments in Germany, particularly to get access to original source and court documents in German, Peter Bert’s Dispute Resolution in Germany Blog is a terrific source.  Between the Hans Sachs collection case and the contuing fallout from the Wolfgang Beltracchi forgery scandal and the fictional “Jägers… Continue Reading