Posted on: November 20, 2017 by Hélène Deslauriers
The world was astonished in 2013, when the German government disclosed the discovery of an unprecedented trove of art works in Munich. The presumptive owner, Cornelius Gurlitt, who was nearly 80 when he died, had never worked, never had a bank account, nor social security or insurance. He was a recluse with no known friends or […]
Posted on: November 13, 2017 by Hélène Deslauriers
The Sotheby’s sale of the Berkshire Museum’s artworks, scheduled for the 13th of November, has now been put on hold following the Massachusetts Appeal Court’s decision reversing the previous judgment by the Superior Court, which had cleared the way for the sale. On Friday the 10th of November, the Court of Appeals granted the Attorney […]
Posted on: November 9, 2017 by Hélène Deslauriers
Judge John J. Agostini of the Pittsfield Superior Court gave his decision on Tuesday in the widely publicised deaccession case brought by the sons of Rockwell and others against the Berkshire Museum. As a brief reminder, the Berkshire Museum’s financial situation had been bleak for many years and wealthy donors had all but disappeared. The […]
Posted on: November 3, 2017 by Hélène Deslauriers
On 1st November, Judge John Agostini, presiding over the Pittsfield Court remarked that people “don’t often see a large crowd here,” but a large crowd had indeed gathered that day. As previously discussed, the case before him involved two separate hearings for preliminary restraining orders against the Berkshire Museum and its Trustees to stop the sale of a […]
Posted on: October 30, 2017 by Amoury Groenen
On 27 October 2017, the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law – hereinafter Unidroit – officially launched the 1995 Unidroit Convention Academic Project (UCAP). The project – which was first announced during a special event on “Promoting and Strengthening the international legal framework for the protection of cultural heritage” held on 28 February […]
Posted on: October 25, 2017 by Hélène Deslauriers
Following our recent post on the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, legal action has now been taken by Norman Rockwell’s heirs against the Museum in relation to the upcoming auction sale of works from the collection. On 20th October, Norman Rockwell’s sons, Thomas, Jarvis and Peter Rockwell, along with other museum members and donors, filed a […]
Posted on: October 23, 2017 by Julia Rodrigues Casella Hommes
Following the series of controversial decisions for which the Trump administration has come to be known, this month the US Department of State has notified the UNESCO Director-General of its decision to withdraw from the organisation. Amongst the reasons presented are ‘concerns with mounting arrears at UNESCO’, ‘the need for fundamental reform in the organisation’ […]
Posted on: October 11, 2017 by Hélène Deslauriers
A storm has been brewing since the summer in the quiet town of Pittsfield, Massachusetts. The town’s Berkshire Museum announced in July that it intended to put up 40 works of art for sale at Sotheby’s over a period ranging from November 2017 to March 2018. The Museum justified its decision by its dire financial […]
Posted on: September 27, 2017 by IAL Admin
Any memberships taken out between now and the end of the year will run until January 2019! To take advantage of this special offer, just add the appropriate membership to your basket below.
Posted on: September 14, 2017 by Alexander Herman
Along with the Centre for Commercial Law Studies at Queen Mary, University of London, we were happy to host US attorney Nicholas O’Donnell last night for a talk on Nazi-looted art and the ongoing attempts at reclaiming lost works from museums and private collections in the US. Nicholas was in London promoting his new book, […]