Yesterday’s Acts of Grace seminar on the voluntary return of cultural property was held at the historic Church of St Olave in Hart Street, a jewel amidst the bustle of London’s City. Papers were presented by a variety of speakers on a variety of topics. They were as follows:

• The colourful story of St Olave’s by Reverend Oliver Ross (Rector at St Olave’s Church)
• Soldiers, sailors, scavengers and souvenirs by Professor Norman Palmer (3 Stone Buildings)
• The bust of Peter Turner by Phil Manning (Manager at St Olave’s Church)
• Egypt, Israel and the Sinai desert finds by Kevin Chamberlain (Dere St Chambers)
• The Nazi occupation of the Netherlands: a looted Tapestry and its journey home by Evelien Campfens (Dutch Restitutions Committee)
• Three cases from America by Isabel Paintin (Slaughter and May)
• The Sheffield University Tapestry by Lynne Fox (Sheffield University) and Mathilde Roellinger (Avocat, Paris)
• The Ghandharan Buddha by Harry Martin (3 Stone Buildings)
• Cezanne’s Groupe d’Arbres by Alexander Herman (Institute of Art and Law)
• A case from the British Library by Kristian Jensen (British Library)
• The Hereford Pike by Hélène Deslauriers (lawyer)

The Acts of Grace seminar was held at the beautiful St Olave’s Church in Hart Street, London on 4th September 2014 (photo Zehrah Hasan).

The seminar was followed by a celebration for the (re)launch of ArtRestolve, a new centre for alternative dispute resolution in the art and cultural property field. ArtResolve will be chaired by Norman Palmer, who spoke at the launch on the merits of mediation and mutual understanding in the art world.