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 […]
Posted on: September 21, 2016 by Alexander Herman
Following on from the return of the Shiva Nataraja idol from the National Gallery of Australia in 2014, two more Indian artefacts are now set to be restituted by the same institution to their country of origin. These are the sculptures ‘Goddess Pratyangira’ and ‘Worshippers of the Buddha’, both purchased by the gallery in 2005 […]
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: 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 […]
Posted on: September 16, 2015 by Alexander Herman
Two interesting exhibitions are coming up. One is at Sotheby’s in New York and will feature appropriation art by the likes of Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein. It will run from 23 September to 16 October and yes, the works are for sale. The other is at London’s Tate Modern and will feature Pop Artists from the […]
Posted on: April 29, 2015 by Alexander Herman
Earlier this month, it was reported that Canada was returning a 900-year-old sandstone statue to India. This was done with all the necessary pomp and ceremony, with each nation’s prime minister more than ready for a dual photo op with the piece. Of course it represented much more than mere cultural restitution: as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated, cultural relations between […]
Posted on: March 9, 2015 by Ruth Redmond-Cooper
There has been a slew of media coverage in the UK and elsewhere on the reported destruction by agents of the Islamic State (ISIS) of the unequalled archaeological site of Nimrud in Iraq. While many of the reliefs, wall paintings and a number of the mythical winged bull gatekeepers are kept out of harm’s way […]
Posted on: October 7, 2014 by Alexander Herman
As reported last week, an important collection of Egyptian antiquities, the Harageh Treasure, was withdrawn from auction at Bonhams in London, where it had been consigned by the Archaeological Institute of America St Louis Society, with an estimated sale price of £80,000 to £120,000. It has since been revealed that the Treasure had been bought by the […]
Posted on: June 17, 2014 by Alexander Herman
In the saga commented on earlier by Hélène Deslauriers here, a settlement has now been reached between the owner of the Seagram Building in New York and the New York Landmarks Conservancy. The dispute arose over the treatment of Picasso’s stage curtain Le Tricorne, which had hung prominently in the Seagram Building since 1959. The owner […]
Posted on: May 9, 2014 by Hélène Deslauriers
In Manhattan, Justice Matthew Cooper of the New York State Supreme Court ruled recently to prevent the owners of the Seagram Building from removing, at least for the time being, a stage curtain painted by Picasso stating there is ‘clearly a danger of irreprable injury’. The painting, known as Le Tricorne was executed by Picasso […]