Posted on: January 23, 2023 by Emily Gould
In an important decision handed down at the end of last year (Qatar Investment & Projects Development Holding Co v John Eskenazi Ltd [2022] EWHC 3023 (Comm))[1] the High Court upheld most of the claims brought by an eminent purchaser against a well-known antiquities dealer in relation to the (in)authenticity of the artefacts in question. […]
Posted on: August 4, 2022 by Ruth Redmond-Cooper
The second issue of 2022 from Art Antiquity and Law has now gone to press and hard copy will be sent out to subscribers next week. This issue covers a range of topics: Emily Gould, Assistant Director of the Institute of Art and Law, provides a detailed examination of the law relating to NFTs. These […]
Posted on: December 14, 2020 by Emily Gould
An intriguing and long-running saga involving an alleged Old Master painting, a London art dealer, a US investor and an international auction house appears to have reached its conclusion. For those following the case of Sotheby’s v Weiss Limited and Fairlight Art Ventures LLP, with all its twists and turns, the latest (and possibly the […]
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. […]
Posted on: October 24, 2019 by Julia Rodrigues Casella Hommes
Marking the beginning of a new academic year, the latest issue of Art Antiquity & Law, IAL’s quarterly journal, is hot off the press and brings a number of articles ranging from topics such as musical instruments and their legal framework to arbitration, art theft, export of cultural goods and the repatriation claims for the […]
Posted on: September 4, 2016 by Emily Gould
Two fascinating stories from the art world have captured our imagination over the past couple of weeks. Whilst seemingly unrelated, both have the thorny issue of authorship and authenticity at their heart and, coincidentally, share a Scottish connection. The first is the news that Scottish artist, Peter Doig, has won his court battle against a […]
Posted on: January 27, 2016 by Judith Bouchardeau and Mathilde Roellinger
The discovery of the art forgery scandal perpetrated by Wolfang Beltracchi has given rise to a number of legal proceedings. The recent decision of the Court of Appeal of Versailles, involving art expert Werner Spies and a painting attributed to Max Ernst, is among them. The facts are as follows. At the 2004 Paris Biennale […]
Posted on: January 9, 2015 by Alexander Herman
Judgment was rendered last month by the Supreme Court of New South Wales in the case of McBride v Christie’s Australia. The case involved the auction sale of a painting by Australian modernist artist Albert Tucker in May 2000 to a barrister named Louise McBride for AUD $75,000. Later, in 2010, when McBride made arrangements to sell the […]
Posted on: June 6, 2014 by Ruth Redmond-Cooper
There will be an IAL Art and Antiquities Study Forum held in central London on 28 June 2014. It will be an all-day event. Topics to be discussed include authenticity and valuation disputes; handling stolen goods; international conventions; art, freedom of expression and human rights; human remains in museums. Speakers include Kevin Chamberlain (barrister), Dick Ellis […]