Readers will recall the strange case of “Dumb Starbucks” earlier this year, which initially seemed to pose the question of whether a coffee shop that transparently used the marks and copyrights of Starbucks could claim fair use as an art gallery. It turned out that the entire performance was just that, a lead up to… Continue Reading
Monthly Archives: July 2014
United States Abandons Finally Its Effort to Seize Mask of Ka Nefer Nefer in St. Louis, Egypt’s Plans Unknown
Posted in Civil Forfeiture, Customs, MuseumsThe Department of Justice has made public its plans to let the deadline pass for seeking rehearing or further review of the June, 2014 decision affirming the dismissal of its efforts to seize the Mask of Ka Nefer Nefer in the St. Louis Art Museum by civil forfeiture. In an interview with St. Louis Post-Dispatch,… Continue Reading
Creditors Strike Back With Report Valuing Detroit Institute of Arts Collection at $8.5 Billion
Posted in Detroit BankruptcyWeeks after the city of Detroit released its valuation expert report on the value of the full collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts by Artvest Partners, creditors opposed to the city’s plan of adjustment and the “Grand Bargain” within it have released their own appraisal. Not surprisingly, it asserts a significantly higher value of… Continue Reading
Audio Now Available of “Art Fairs: An Irresistible Force In The Art World?” at Sotheby’s Institute
Posted in Art Fairs, EventsI took part in a panel discussion at the Sotheby’s Institute on May 27, 2014 entitled “Art Fairs: An Irresistible Force In The Art World?” The audio file of the evening can now be heard here, along with a transcription of the first half of the presentation. Moderated by Judith Prowda, the panel was comprised… Continue Reading
Curiouser and Curiouser: Still More Gurlitt Paintings Found, Nazi-Looting Connections Unknown
Posted in Gurlitt Collection, Restitution, World War IIAs if the Cornelius/Hildebrand Gurlitt saga needed any more complications as the world awaits the official decision by the Kunstmuseum Bern about whether to accept the appointment as Cornelius Gurlitt’s heir, even more artwork has apparently turned up. Der Spiegel, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, and the Wall Street Journal have reported that one picture and… Continue Reading
Not so Fast—Intervention into Corcoran Cy Pres Case Allowed for Current Students and Employees, “Save the Corcoran” Turned Away
Posted in Cy Pres, Deaccession, Museums, TrustsThe Washington Business Journal‘s Rebecca Cooper tweeted today from the courtroom today that District of Columbia Superior Court Judge Robert Okun has allowed in part the motion to intervene in the Corcoran Gallery cy prés petition. Reports are that current students of the College of Art + Design, as well as current Corcoran employees were… Continue Reading
Lauder Wall Street Journal Nazi-Looted Art Editorial, Art Law Report Post, and the Response: Some Clarification and Context
Posted in Restitution, World War IITwo weeks ago, we posted an article entitled “Lauder Editorial on Stolen Art Fails the Glass House Test.” The metaphor was not intended to be complicated: it seemed inconsistent, to put it politely, for the honorary board chairman of a museum that has resisted restitution claims by asserting, for example, the statute of limitations and… Continue Reading
District of Columbia DA Supports Corcoran Cy Pres Petition, Focuses on Potential Sanctions for Deaccession
Posted in Cy Pres, Deaccession, Museums, TrustsThe Washington, DC District Attorney Irvin Nathan has filed his brief concerning the Corcoran Gallery’s cy prés petition to reform the museum and College of Art + Design with the National Gallery of Art and George Washington University. To put it succinctly, “The District supports entry of the Proposed Order because the proposed cy pres… Continue Reading
Legislative Update: HR 4103, the “American Royalties Too Act” to be Considered Next Week, Gains Sponsors
Posted in Copyright, Legislation, Resale RoyaltiesOn February 26, 2014, Representative Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) introduced the “American Royalties Too Act”—House Resolution 4103. HR 4103 was referred to the House Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet on March 20, 2014. There was also an “American Royalties Too Act” introduced in the U.S. Senate by Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) on the… Continue Reading
Corcoran Trustees Respond to “Save the Corcoran” Motion to Intervene, Argue That Challengers Lack Distinct Interest
Posted in Cy Pres, Deaccession, Museums, TrustsThe trustees of the Corcoran Gallery and the Corcoran College of Art +Design have responded to the recent motion by a group of students, faculty, staff, and interested supporters have filed a motion to intervene in the Corcoran’s cy prés petition to merge with the National Gallery of Art and George Washington University. The proposed… Continue Reading
City Releases Updated Appraisal of Full Detroit Institute of Arts Collection, Tactical Questions Abound
Posted in Detroit BankruptcyA report by an expert witness designated by the City of Detroit for the upcoming bankruptcy trial has been released concerning the value of the full collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts. The report puts the full collection value at $2.7 to $4.6 billion, but estimates that the price it would fetch if the… Continue Reading
Corcoran Cy Pres Petition Challenged by Students, Staff and Community Group. Will “Save the Corcoran” Be Another “Friends of the Barnes” Case?
Posted in Cy Pres, Deaccession, Museums, TrustsAfter months of uncertainty about the future of the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, the Corcoran’s Trustee’s filed a petition on June 17, 2014 for cy pres—to revise the terms of the trust that administers the museum and the Corcoran College of Art + Design. The Corcoran’s financial condition, they argue, make the… Continue Reading
Bavarian State Paintings Collection in the News Again, May Face Claims from Eva Braun Heirs
Posted in Restitution, World War IIQuite by coincidence, two stories we have covered in the last few days have centered around the claims by the heirs of Paul von Mendelssohn Bartholdy, a Jewish banker and art collector who was the target of Nazi persecution before he died in 1935: Julius Schoeps, Edelgard von Lavergne-Peguilhen, and Florence Kesselstatt. Another common thread… Continue Reading
Claims by Mendelssohn Bartholdy Heirs over Picasso “Madame Soler” Dismissed, Court Finds No FSIA Jurisdiction After Evidentiary Hearings
Posted in Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Gurlitt Collection, Restitution, World War IIThe U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has dismissed claims for ownership of Madame Soler by Pablo Picasso, currently at the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich. Just as the relevance of Judge Jed Rakoff’s comments over another art restitution case brought by the heirs of Paul von Mendelssohn Bartholdy unexpectedly came… Continue Reading
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