Latest IAL News

Restitution and the ‘return of beauty’ – afterthoughts

Posted on: February 4, 2022 by Alexander Herman

On Wednesday evening, I spoke on an online panel organised by the Universities of Bonn and Tel Aviv entitled The Return of Beauty: Restitution of Nazi-Looted Art in Comparative Perspectives. I was asked to introduce the topic of ‘post-colonial’ claims for the return of cultural objects as a point of comparison with claims for the […]

December issue of Art Antiquity and Law out now

Posted on: January 31, 2022 by Ruth Redmond-Cooper

The slightly delayed December 2021 issue of Art Antiquity and Law has now gone to press and hard copies will be sent out to subscribers early next week. It contains articles on the far-reaching implications of Brexit for the cultural sector (Valentine Granet and Dr Sophie Vigneron); an examination of the changing nature of the […]

Can an NFT be art? And why it matters…

Posted on: January 26, 2022 by Emily Gould

Term has started again this week for students of the Art Business and Law LLM provided by IAL in conjunction with Queen Mary, University of London. This semester, students will embark on three diverse new topics: Art and Intellectual Property, covering the intangible aspects of art; Art and Money, exploring the financial parameters of the […]

U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments in case of Nazi-looted Pissarro

Posted on: January 19, 2022 by Stephanie Drawdy

For just over one hour on Tuesday 18th January, the Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument centered on procedural issues that will decide the next steps in the protracted case involving a Camille Pissarro masterwork.[1] The painting, Rue Saint-Honoré, après-midi, effet de pluie, is currently held by Spain in its Thyssen-Bornemisza Museo […]

Acquittal of the ‘Colston Four’ – jury gives verdict in statue toppling trial

Posted on: January 12, 2022 by Rebecca Hawkes-Reynolds

On Thursday 6 January, four defendants accused of illegally damaging the Grade II listed statue of Edward Colston in the UK port city of Bristol were found not guilty by their jury. For those not familiar with the story, it began with the toppling of the statue back in June 2020, during protests in the […]

Looking ahead to 2022

Posted on: January 5, 2022 by Alexander Herman

Is it really time to make predictions? With the uncertainty that has accompanied these last two years, likely not. As I said last year, prognostication is a perilous enterprise. What can really be said about the year ahead without including a major asterisk? So let us instead try a more modest approach, by going over […]

Michael Steinhardt’s antiquities and the legal/moral divide

Posted on: December 9, 2021 by Alexander Herman

Collector Michael Steinhardt has been in the news this week, and not for the right reasons. On Monday, an agreement was announced whereby the New York DA’s Office would not prosecute Steinhardt for acquiring looted antiquities and, in exchange, Steinhardt would surrender 180 such artefacts to the DA, and these will soon (one hopes) be […]

Meet our Alumni: Adam Jomeen, Founder of Art Law Studio

Posted on: December 2, 2021 by Kiri Cragin Folwell

Adam Jomeen, Founder of the specialist art law firm Art Law Studio, participated in our LLM in Art, Business and Law. Read about his background and experience studying with the Institute of Art and Law. Can you tell us a little bit about your career and background? I read History at King’s College London before […]

News on upcoming Transatlantic Cultural Property Crime Symposium

Posted on: November 2, 2021 by Emily Gould

Readers of the blog with an interest in international art crime may be interested in attending the second ‘Transatlantic Cultural Property Crime Symposium’ to take place online next week (Monday, November 8 – Wednesday November 10). The 2021 Symposium will explore innovative approaches in both criminal law and civil law to assist in the detection, […]

Court orders Crimean Treasures returned to Ukrainian State

Posted on: October 28, 2021 by Emilie Huisman-van Essen

The Amsterdam Court of Appeal delivered its final decision this week in the much-debated case about the golden treasures that have been in the possession of the Allard Pierson Museum (left) in the Netherlands since 2014. Both the lending Crimean Museums and the Ukrainian State have been demanding the return of the objects following the […]