Latest IAL News

Appeal for Restitution of Nazi-Plundered Pissarro Centers on Application of Spanish versus U.S. Law

Posted on: December 24, 2019 by Stephanie Drawdy

A buyer who purchases stolen property does not receive good title – depending on the jurisdiction. The Cassirer family has learned this lesson all too well after nearly two decades attempting to reclaim a Nazi-looted painting by Impressionist Master Camille Pissarro. Earlier this year, a U.S. federal court in California awarded the Pissarro to a […]

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, […]

US Restitution Suit Allowed to Proceed Against the Netherlands and Dutch Museums

Posted on: December 12, 2019 by Stephanie Drawdy

Towards the end of Second World War, Adolph Hitler received a birthday gift that likely made his heart swell with pride – a famous Rembrandt. The impact this gift had on a certain elderly woman interned in one of Hitler’s Dutch concentration camps is far more difficult to describe; the Old Master painting was her […]

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 […]

By description? Canadian judgment complicates art contracts

Posted on: December 2, 2019 by Charlotte Dunn

Legal cases involving questions of authenticity, attribution and provenance are generally not easily determined. However, in a recent Canadian case, the Court of Appeal for Ontario applied contract law to tackle (or avoid) the issue. The case involved a painting, entitled Spirit Energy of Mother Earth, purportedly by the renowned First Nations artist, Norval Morrisseau. […]

Multi-million Dollar Award Under Appeal In Divisive 5Pointz Case

Posted on: November 28, 2019 by Stephanie Drawdy

Ninety days versus $6.75 million. That’s what the 5Pointz case currently on appeal in the US before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals boils down to. Twenty-one artists should have been given a ninety-day notice to remove their art from the façade of a real estate developer’s property before he whitewashed the works, according to the […]

‘Bad things come in threes’ in the world of art crime…

Posted on: November 26, 2019 by Emily Gould

It has been a tumultuous fortnight in Europe in the world of art crime. First, we heard about the audacious attempt to steal two Rembrandts from London’s Dulwich Picture Gallery – thankfully unsuccessful with the perpetrators being apprehended and the paintings recovered within the grounds of the gallery. Then, yesterday, news broke of a heist […]

Update on restitution: recent returns

Posted on: November 22, 2019 by Alexander Herman

After my piece last week on restitution, there have been some interesting developments in the area. First of all, a major non-profit organisation, the Open Society Foundations, has pledged US$15 million to assist groups working to restitute African heritage. The money is pledged over a period of four years. As I said when commenting on […]

“MAY RESULT IN LEGAL ACTION” ©TM : THE NEW BANKSY?

Posted on: November 21, 2019 by Adam Jomeen

Banksy’s well-known quip from 2005 that “Copyright is for losers ©TM” is perhaps more widely attributed than many of his artworks.  Disputes with an Italian museum and a UK greetings card company over the past year suggest a shift, however, in his historically laissez-faire attitude to the commercialisation of his work by unauthorised third parties.  […]

The debate continues… High court dismisses challenge to the Ivory Act 2018 but permission to appeal granted

Posted on: November 19, 2019 by Charlotte Dunn

As previously noted in the IAL blog, the recent challenge to the Ivory Act 2018 has continued an ongoing debate over the UK government’s decision to impose a stricter ban on the trade in elephant ivory. (See earlier reports here and here). On the 5th of November 2019, Mr Justice Jay handed down his High […]