Tag Archives: law

2022: Year in Review

Posted on: December 19, 2022 by Alexander Herman

2022 was a year of great change, both in the world at large and for art law in particular. We saw the end of most of the worst effects of the covid pandemic, accompanied by what appears to be a final farewell to the era of lockdowns. We saw war in Europe for the first […]

New issue of Art Antiquity and Law out soon

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 […]

Return to donor: Tate to deaccession Bacon archive

Posted on: July 20, 2022 by Joanna Owens

The Tate is to take the unusual step of deaccessioning from its collection and returning to the donor material from the studio of Francis Bacon, once described as the Tate Archive’s most important acquisition ever and suggested to be worth around £20m. The Tate is one of a number of UK National Museums governed by national legislation, whose […]

Fabergé in London – Russia sanctions and immunity from seizure

Posted on: May 25, 2022 by Alexander Herman

On 8 May, the exhibition Fabergé in London: Romance to Revolution concluded at London’s Victoria & Albert Museum. Several of the pieces on display had been lent by collections in Russia, namely those of the Kremlin in Moscow and the Hermitage in St Petersburg. The exhibition, which opened on 20 November 2021, began in a […]

A new take on cultural heritage at the ICJ – Armenia v. Azerbaijan

Posted on: February 17, 2022 by Alexander Herman

It’s rare that an international court confronts cultural heritage issues. But that’s just what happened two months ago. On 7 December, an important Order came down from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague that included consideration of, amongst other matters, the importance of tangible cultural heritage to minority populations in times of […]

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 […]

July issue of Art Antiquity and Law out now

Posted on: July 27, 2021 by Ruth Redmond-Cooper

The July issue of Art Antiquity and Law has now gone to press and hard copies of the burgundy journal will soon be landing on doorsteps around the world, with digital copies finding their way to inboxes. For those interested in subscribing, please see here. This issue contains articles and case notes on a wide […]

Report on our Law and Photography seminar

Posted on: July 3, 2021 by Alyssa Weitkamp

On Thursday, 1st July we hosted a seminar entitled ‘Law and Photography’ where various aspects of photography and its relationship with the law were discussed. During this seminar, our speakers focused on copyright, licensing, moral rights and privacy rights. The seminar was chaired and moderated by Simon Stokes of Blake Morgan and Alexander Herman of […]

An art market without rules? The new Freeport opportunity in the UK

Posted on: April 15, 2021 by Eve Gatenby

“Our clients choose us because we have no priority above their property,” remarks the guide touring Robert Pattinson and John David Washington’s characters through a freeport in Christopher Nolan’s 2020 thriller Tenet. The underground vaults they are walking through are alluringly filled with artworks that give subtle hints at Impressionist and Abstract Expressionist masterpieces. These two characters […]

Museum ethics: when the law plays catch up

Posted on: March 23, 2021 by Alexander Herman

Readers of this blog will know of our interest in a particular piece of EU law that came into effect throughout the EU territory on 28th December 2020. This predated the end of the Brexit Transition Period by three days and so applied to the UK as well, at least initially. The legislation was Regulation […]