In between enjoying another excellent Art Law Day today at NYU, I am pleased to report that Sullivan & Worcester LLP’s Art and Museum Group scored a significant win this week. Our client Artmentum GmbH was sued in New York for $204 million in connection with a potential art collection sale. The plaintiff Art Assure… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Collections
Subscribe to Collections RSS FeedSalon Piece Confirms Primacy of State Law in Detroit Bankruptcy Dispute
Posted in Bankruptcy, Collections, Detroit BankruptcyProfessor Adam J. Levitin of Georgetown has an excellent piece in Salon this week that adds to what I like to call the sober group of discussions about the Detroit Institute of Art collection in the context of the City of Detroit Bankruptcy. From a learned perspective, Professor Levitin echoes some of the themes we’ve… Continue Reading
City of Detroit Hires Christie’s to Appraise Detroit Institute of Arts Collection
Posted in Collections, Detroit Bankruptcy, MuseumsIn connection with the Detroit bankruptcy, auction house Christie’s announced on Monday that it has been hired to “assist and advise on how to realize value for the city while leaving the art in the city’s ownership.” According to the Christie’s press release, the auction house was hired by the City of Detroit itself, which has… Continue Reading
Detroit Institute of Arts Deaccessioning: Municipal Bankruptcy, Existing and Proposed Changes to Michigan Law Affect Debate
Posted in Bankruptcy, Collections, Deaccession, Legislation, MuseumsAn important qualifier to the discussion about deaccessioning and the Detroit Institute of Arts is that although DIA is a subdivision of the bankruptcy debtor (Detroit), that debtor is not any old commercial entity. Rather, Detroit is a municipality, and municipal and state debtors are governed by slightly different rules than private parties. The underlying… Continue Reading
Detroit Institute of Arts and Motor City Bankruptcy: Deaccessioning Fact and Fiction, Hope and Reality
Posted in Collections, DeaccessionThe recent filing by the City of Detroit for bankruptcy—the largest such municipal filing in history—has brought with it an unexpected art law twist. Namely: to what extent can, or should the collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts be used to satisfy the city’s creditors. As one might expect, the differences between what the… Continue Reading
Lawsuit Against Sotheby’s for Nazi-tainted Art Sale Dismissed; Why it Was Filed in California at all Remains Unclear
Posted in Auctions, Collections, RestitutionA federal court in California has dismissed a claim by a buyer against Sotheby’s that alleged that the auction house sold him a work whose title was clouded because Hermann Göring had once owned it. What seemed liked a interesting new theory of liability was dismissed because the buyer had agreed in advance to litigate any… Continue Reading
Mask of Ka Nefer Nefer Settlement Talks Fail, Appeal Back on the Docket
Posted in Collections, CustomsAfter a report from the United States that settlement talks in the civil forfeiture case against the Mask of Ka Nefer Nefer at the St. Louis Art Museum were sufficiently promise to suspend the briefing schedule in the Court of Appeals, the government has advised the court that those talks have failed. The government’s appellate… Continue Reading
Boston Globe spotlights S&W Client Mark Rappaport’s Battle for His Film Collection
Posted in CollectionsThe Boston Globe addressed this week Sullivan & Worcester LLP client Mark Rappaport’s dispute with Boston University professor Ray Carney concerning the custody of Rappaport’s original film archive. My partner Kevin Colmey has represented Rappaport in this regard for over a year, and I appeared on Rappaport’s behalf at a hearing last year as well. … Continue Reading
New York Times Analyzes Jenack Appeal, Art Law Report Quoted
Posted in Auctions, CollectionsThe New York Times has stepped into the fray in reviewing the New York Court of Appeals’s decision to review the Rabizadeh/Jenack appeal concerning the application of New York’s Statute of Frauds to compel disclosure of a consignment seller at auction. The article zeroes in on the potential impacts to the ways in which auction… Continue Reading
Auction Consignors’ Names Must be Disclosed in New York: an Art Twist on a Very Old Law
Posted in Collections, Consignment, LegislationIt is a busy fall for consignment law in New York. News has been making the rounds this month about a decision by the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court, New York’s intermediate appeals court. The Appellate Division ruled that an auctioneer must disclose the name of any owner who has consigned the work… Continue Reading
“Flea Market Renoir” May Have Been Stolen Decades Ago, Confusion Abounds
Posted in Collections, Connoisseurship, Forgery, StandingWhat 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
Posted in Collections, Consignment, Legislation, TrustsNew 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!
Posted in Collections, Copyright, Cultural Property, Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act, Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Immunity from Seizure Act, RestitutionWe 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
Court Denies Request to Amend Complaint Seeking Forfeiture of Mask of Ka-Nefer-Nefer
Posted in Civil Forfeiture, Collections, CustomsThe U.S. District Court in St. Louis has denied the government’s request to amend the complaint seeking civil forfeiture of the Mask of Ka-Nefer-Nefer from the St. Louis Art Museum. Echoing some of the timeliness points we made after the government’s request for reconsideration of the dismissal of the case was denied on June 1,… Continue Reading
Barnes Foundation Relocation Under Attack Again but Unlikely to Come Out Differently
Posted in Collections, Cy PresThe Barnes relocation, and challenges to it, are both in the news again. Apparently former Barnes CEO Kimberly Camp—who held that office when much of the push was made to justify the need to relocate to Center City in Philadelphia—posted a blog entry about the financial condition of the Foundation at the time. She writes:… Continue Reading
Government Tries to Save “Mask of Ka-Nefer-Nefer” Case Against St. Louis Art Museum, but Did U.S. Miss Its Own Deadline?
Posted in Civil Forfeiture, Collections, Customs, RestitutionAfter the U.S. District Court denied the government’s Motion to Reconsider its earlier dismissal of the claim to the Mask of Ka-Nefer-Nefer in the St. Louis Museum of Art, the government has tried another procedure to revive the case, one that is normally unremarkable. A review of the filings in the case raises the question, however,… Continue Reading
UPDATE: Court Denies Government’s Request to Amend Case to Reclaim Mask of Ka-Nefer-Nefer from St. Louis Art Museum
Posted in Collections, CustomsFresh on the heels of our coverage here and here and in the Atlantic, the U.S. District Court in St. Louis has rejected the U.S. government’s efforts to save its case to reclaim the Mask of Ka-Nefer-Nefer. After the case was dismissed in April, the government asked the court for permission to amend the complaint to… Continue Reading
The Ethical Questions Raised by the Mask of Ka-Nefer-Nefer Case in this Month’s Atlantic
Posted in Collections, CustomsMalcom Gay in the Atlantic reports on the dismissal of the federal government’s civil forfeiture action under U.S. customs laws United States v. The Mask of Ka-Nefer-Nefer, and the broader quesions about what a museum should do when faced with such claims. In April, the U.S. District Court allowed the St. Louis Museum of Art’s Motion… Continue Reading
Court in Chabad Library Case Solicits Views of the United States on the Foreign Relations Impact of Holding Russia in Contempt
Posted in Collections, Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Immunity from Seizure Act, Restitution, World War IIDespite some predictions (!) of a swift ruling on the Chabad plaintiffs’ motion for contempt for the Russian state library defendants’ refusal to comply with an order two years ago to return the library of Menachem Schneerson, the U.S. District Court in Washington, DC today solicited the views of the United States on the possibility of… Continue Reading
Despite Criticism of S.B. 2212’s Proposed Amendment to the FSIA, New Law Would Not Enable Stolen Art
Posted in Collections, Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act, Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Immunity from Seizure Act, Legislation, Restitution, World War IIDoreen Carvajal of the New York Times this week addressed Senate Bill 2212, (the “Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act”) this week, a bill approved in March by the House of Representatives. The article gives those most critical of the bill a chance to make their case. While well-intentioned, that criticism continues to miss… Continue Reading
California Law Struck Down as Unconstitutional: U.S. District Court Dismisses California Resale Royalty Act Case against Sotheby’s, Christie’s, and eBay
Posted in Collections, Copyright, Intellectual Property, Legislation, Resale RoyaltiesConsistent with expectations after reports from the court hearing in March, the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles dismissed the case brought by artist Chuck Close and others that alleged violations of the California Resale Royalty Act (the “CRRA”) by Sotheby’s, Christie’s and eBay, and ruled that the CRRA is unconstitutional in its entirety. Similar claims… Continue Reading
Commentary Takes Shape on S.B. 2212, the Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act
Posted in Collections, Customs, Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act, Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Restitution, Senate Bill 2212, Uncategorized, World War IIIt’s been a few weeks since the House passed the Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act (H.R. 4086) and sent it on to the Senate for consideration as S.B. 2212. It has bipartisan sponsorship there (Dianne Feinstein and Orrin Hatch), but no word yet on when it will be put to a vote. As… Continue Reading
Poster Collection Seized by Nazis Ordered Returned by German High Court
Posted in Collections, Restitution, World War IICatherine Hickley of Bloomberg reports today from Berlin about a court-ordered return of more than 4,000 once owned by Hans Sachs, a Jewish dentist chased out of Nazi Germany. The Bundesgerichtshof (BGH) is Germany’s highest civil court, and handed down the decision. At one time, Sachs’s collection had more than 12,000 posters by artist… Continue Reading
California Resale Royalty Act Case Against Sotheby’s, Christie’s, and eBay to Be Dismissed?
Posted in Collections, Legislation, Resale RoyaltiesDonn Zaretsky at the Art Law Blog (whose prior commentary on the case gives excellent analysis of the Commerce Clause and other issues) reports that the U.S. District Court issued a tentative ruling at a hearing on Monday to dismiss the California Resale Royalty Act cases against Sotheby’s, Christie’s and eBay (Chuck Close is one of… Continue Reading
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