18 July 2017 – What happens when an individual or a corporate entity holding an important art collection is faced with insolvency? Can the collection be protected – or even saved for the nation? Or must it be sold off and dispersed to satisfy the insolvent’s creditors?

While situations of insolvency are never hoped for, it is always best to plan ahead for any eventuality, including the inability to pay one’s debts. This afternoon seminar will consider the basics of insolvency law and investigate how and when they will apply to collections of art or other cultural objects. The aim is to better understand how to manage such ‘worst case scenarios’ well in advance. Topics will include the impact of art financing and art loans, while the famous cases of the Wedgwood Company and the city of Detroit insolvencies will be considered in detail.

The seminar will be graciously hosted by Lipman Karas LLP in London and will be chaired by the firm’s principal, Jeremy Scott. The sessions and speakers will be as follows:

• * Insolvency: a warning for the art world? – Jeremy Scott, Principal, Lipman Karas LLP
• * Art financing and the impact of insolvency – Rudy Capildeo and Tim Maxwell, Boodle Hatfield LLP
• * The Wedgwood Company insolvency – Harry Martin, barrister, 5 Stone Buildings
• * Detroit and its art collection – Geoffrey Bennett, Director Emeritus, Notre Dame University London Law Programme
• * Art and insolvency case studies – Emily Gould, Senior Researcher, Institute of Art & Law

Date: 18 July 2017

Time: 1.30 pm to 5.30 pm, followed by a reception

Location: Lipman Karas LLP, 26 Southampton Buildings, London, WC2A 1AN

Cost: NON-MEMBERS £192, incl. VAT (£160 + VAT) / MEMBERS £96, incl. VAT (£80 + VAT) for IAL / UKRG members.

Places can be reserved HERE or contact us by email if you have any questions. This event will be eligible for 3 CPD points.

The image above is of a work from William Hogarth’s series, ‘A Rake’s Progress’ (1732-33), depicting the ‘rake’ ending up in the notorious Fleet debtor’s prison, once located near Fleet St in London. The original canvases can be found at Sir John Soane’s Museum in Lincoln’s Inn Fields, a short walk from the location of the offices of Lipman Karas.