Tag Archives: laws

Aboriginal bark etching returned to Australia… for now

Posted on: April 15, 2016 by Alexander Herman

Since we last reported on the matter, there have been some (potentially positive) developments on the issue of the Australian Aboriginal bark etchings in the collection of the British Museum being claimed by descendants of the Dja Dja Wurrung people who had initially made them in the mid 19th century. An article by Paul Daley in the Guardian from […]

Strict export rules apply to Dalí painting

Posted on: December 10, 2015 by Alexander Herman

A recent report involving a Dalí painting, Figura en una taula (pictured below), has once again brought the issue of cultural export controls into focus. The Dalí painting, owned by an Italian national named Elena Quarestani, has been blocked by the Italian authorities from leaving the country. This is because it has been subject to a ‘declaration of […]

Sale today of once-“obscene” Mapplethorpe photo

Posted on: October 7, 2015 by Ruth Redmond-Cooper

Today, Sotheby’s New York will be auctioning off a print of a controversial Robert Mapplethorpe photograph entitled Man in Polyester Suit (no, we won’t describe it for you). Twenty-five years ago the work was at the centre of criminal proceedings brought against the Cincinnati Art Center and its director for contravening US obscenity laws after the institution had […]

International Art Transactions

Posted on: May 14, 2015 by Alexander Herman

A great seminar yesterday afternoon at Maurice Turnor Gardner in London, with a broad range of topics covered: conflicts of laws, title to ancient artefacts, vesting statutes, negligence in art appraisal, export licensing, customs warehousing, import VAT and freeports. I think it’s fair to say that our speakers covered most, if not all, of the […]

International Art Transactions: 13 May 2015 seminar

Posted on: March 31, 2015 by Ruth Redmond-Cooper

On Wednesday 13 May 2015 from 2-5.30 pm there will be an Institute of Art & Law seminar in association with Maurice Turnor Gardner LLP held at the firm’s London offices in Milton Street EC2Y 9BH. The seminar will explore the legal issues surrounding international art transactions, covering questions of title, customs duties and freeports, working with foreign […]