Latest IAL News

‘Road’ Vandalism at World Heritage Site in Peru

Posted on: February 5, 2018 by Julia Rodrigues Casella Hommes

The Nazca Lines in southern Peru are possibly one of the most mind-boggling archaeological sites in the world. Filled with various geoglyphs, they are about 2,000 years old and cover an enormous area of roughly 450 square kilometres. They are an icon of Nazca culture and have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1994. […]

The de Pury case: the pitfalls of going to court

Posted on: January 31, 2018 by Alexander Herman

The recent case involving art dealer and former auctioneer Simon de Pury makes clear once again why it is always advisable to get your contracts down in writing. The art world is notorious for doing things on a handshake (or a wink/nudge) and the facts behind this dispute are a perfect example. The case involved […]

Art Transactions Afternoon Seminar

Posted on: January 30, 2018 by Kiri Cragin Folwell

On Wednesday, 24 January we were pleased to host the Art Transactions Afternoon Seminar with gracious support from Hunters Solicitors at the Swedenborg Society in London. The afternoon focused on transactions involving artworks and other cultural objects. Talks included Top 10 tips for buying and selling art by Gregor Kleinknecht (Hunters), Art market transactions by […]

Restrictions on Ivory Trade

Posted on: January 24, 2018 by Julia Rodrigues Casella Hommes

An article published last Saturday in The Times has raised some interesting points about the restrictions on the ivory trade and the challenges to proper enforcement of current regulations. This is a topic that has been touched upon previously by several other sources, including The Guardian and The Telegraph. At the core of the restrictions on […]

Banksy’s Paint Pot Angel, legal rights and the art market

Posted on: January 19, 2018 by Alexander Herman

An interesting story has made it out of Bristol, the home city (apparently) of the elusive street artist Banksy. Back in 2009, Banksy had collaborated with the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery on an exhibition called Banksy versus Bristol Museum. In true Banksy style, it featured a burnt-out ice cream van on the Museum’s front […]

The portrait of Greta Moll, the National Gallery and ‘quintessentially’ British statements

Posted on: January 16, 2018 by Hélène Deslauriers

Oskar and Greta Moll were two German students of Henri Matisse. In 1908, they purchased a portrait of Greta painted by the Master himself (the Portrait). Later, having survived the Second World War but concerned of the impeding partition of Germany, they decided to move to Wales in 1946. In preparation for the move, Greta […]

Ancient crown to be returned to Turkey in out-of-court settlement

Posted on: December 12, 2017 by Holly Woodhouse

A golden crown dating from the fourth-century BC will be returned to Turkey following an out-of-court settlement between a Turkish national residing in Scotland and the Government of Turkey. The crown, reported to have been valued at £250,000, was in the possession of Edinburgh café owner Murat Aksakalli, who claimed to have inherited it from […]

New York seizure of a “recovered” Persian artefact

Posted on: November 28, 2017 by Alexander Herman and Holly Woodhouse

Last month, on the 21st of October, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office (along with local police) seized an ancient Achaemenid Persian bas-relief from the European Fine Art Fair at the Park Avenue Armory in New York. The item was being offered for sale by the London-based art dealer Robert Wace for roughly $1.2 million. The […]

IAL training course for Qatar Museums

Posted on: November 24, 2017 by Alexander Herman

The Institute of Art & Law was in Doha, Qatar last week providing an in-house training course on art, law and collections management for Qatar Museums, the governmental body that oversees the state-owned museums in the small Persian Gulf state. The course included one day on intellectual property and collections, another on contracts, acquisitions and […]

An important step towards asserting graffiti artists’ rights

Posted on: November 21, 2017 by Julia Rodrigues Casella Hommes

A recent finding of a jury in a Federal District Court in Brooklyn, New York City,[1] has opened the door for greater protection for graffiti artists. At the core of disputes between graffiti artists and the real property owners their works adorn often lies the age-old debate as to whose property rights prevail: those of […]