Category Archives: Uncategorized

New issue of Art Antiquity & Law available now

Posted on: January 16, 2020 by Julia Rodrigues Casella Hommes

As we leave behind the festive season, the latest issue of Art Antiquity & Law has just been released in time for you to start the new year with the latest in-depth analyses from the world of art and cultural heritage law. Adam Jomeen writes about street photography and compares the legal treatments afforded to […]

The Restitution Dialogues begin!

Posted on: December 19, 2019 by Alexander Herman

Last week, IAL was happy to be part of a conference on restitution at Tel Aviv University in Israel. This is the first of a three-conference series entitled The Restitution Dialogues: A transnational conversion on cultural loss, return and renewal. The second conference will be held in October 2020 at the University of Toronto in Canada, […]

Has moral activism increased Spanish caution for outward loans?

Posted on: December 10, 2019 by Adam Jomeen

Hot on the heels of its heavyweight (in every sense) Antony Gormley retrospective, London’s Royal Academy of Arts (RA) opened its second winter blockbuster – Lucian Freud: The Self-portraits – in late October to widespread critical acclaim.  Filling the RA’s smaller Sackler Wing (yes – they have one too), the show unites paintings, prints, drawings […]

One year after the Sarr-Savoy report, France has lost its momentum in the restitution debate

Posted on: November 15, 2019 by Alexander Herman

The following commentary first appeared in The Art Newspaper print edition (November 2019) and on The Art Newspaper website on 12 November 2019. A year ago this month, authors Felwine Sarr and Bénédicte Savoy submitted their controversial report to French President Emanuel Macron. The report recommended the return of a vast number of Sub-Saharan African artefacts currently in […]

Recent IAL training: British Museum, Oxford and Qatar

Posted on: October 29, 2019 by Alexander Herman

The past month has been a busy one at the IAL. Not only did we run our annual Diploma in Law and Collections Management in London and a Saturday Study Forum, but we also provided a series of in-house training sessions in the UK and Qatar. We began developing these sessions over the last year […]

Censorship during Rio de Janeiro’s Book Biennial was not upheld by Brazil’s Supreme Court

Posted on: September 27, 2019 by Julia Rodrigues Casella Hommes

It might come as a surprise that a Marvel comic book for children could stir so much controversy to the point of having the mayor of one of Brazil’s largest cities ordering its seizure from a book fair, followed by a rushed lawsuit at the state courts and a subsequent ruling from the country’s Supreme […]

Developments from the US-China Trade War and how the art market is affected

Posted on: September 19, 2019 by Julia Rodrigues Casella Hommes

In what at first glance seems like a distant topic for cultural heritage and art law, the ongoing trade war between the US and China has escalated further with clear implications for the art market and many other countries as well. We have previously covered this topic here and here, when last year the threat […]

A report from two major Holocaust-Looted Art Events in London

Posted on: September 17, 2019 by Julia Rodrigues Casella Hommes

London played host earlier this month to two fascinating events relating to Holocaust-looted art and restitution. Both events were packed, truly marking the beginning of a new academic year and the return from summer holidays. IAL attended both events and here is our account of the enlightening discussions which took place. At the V&A, on […]

Interview with IAL Alumna Kathy Richmond, Registrar at the Museum of London

Posted on: September 3, 2019 by Kiri Cragin Folwell

Kathy Richmond, Registrar at the Museum of London, participated in our Diploma in Art Law and Collections Management. Read about her background working with National and non-National museums in the UK and her experience studying on the Diploma course at the Institute of Art and Law. Can you tell us a little bit about your […]

Notre Dame Fire leads to environmental lawsuit

Posted on: August 27, 2019 by Julia Rodrigues Casella Hommes

Following the devastating fire at Notre Dame Cathedral last April in Paris, which we covered here, and in yet another example of how climate activism has recently become entangled with the arts and the cultural sector, there has been strong criticism from one environmental activist group in Paris regarding lead poisoning concerns. In case you […]