Tag Archives: purchase

Will the Real Banksy Please Stand Up!

Posted on: March 18, 2024 by Emily Gould

We know him so well, and yet we know him not at all. Banksy’s iconic images, his famous pranks and his politically-inspired street art are known the world over, yet he remains a shadowy enigma. Operating through the company Pest Control, the person (or persons) behind the Banksy brand have successfully maintained their anonymity over […]

The Spies-Ernst case: Art experts in France can breathe a sigh of relief

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 […]

UK Government extends export ban on Sekhemka statue

Posted on: October 27, 2015 by Alexander Herman

This is a short update on our piece from this summer about the export ban placed on the £15 million Sekhemka statue. While it may have seemed doubtful that a UK entity would be willing (or, more importantly, able) to buy the statue and keep it in the country, there does now appear to be interest in doing so. […]

Another Goya, another art law story

Posted on: October 15, 2015 by Alexander Herman

As hinted at, there is another painting currently hanging at the Goya exhibition at the National Gallery with a story to tell. Unlike the Marquesa de Santa Cruz, this one relates to an episode involving theft, a botched ransom scheme and the adoption of new criminal legislation. It is a portrait painted by Francisco Goya over a two-year […]

Art and Limitation Periods

Posted on: August 19, 2015 by Alexander Herman

A painting was stolen in 1991. It was a work referred to as Girl in Sunlight by Australian impressionist Rupert Bunny (see below). It was owned by James Watt from Melbourne. Watt tried to recover the painting, but there was nothing he could do. He died in 1993. In May 2010 the painting was seized by the […]

International Art Transactions seminar next Wednesday

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

Just a reminder that the IAL’s International Art Transactions seminar hosted by Maurice Turnor Gardner LLP will run next Wednesday, 13 May 2015, from 2 pm until 5.30 (drinks reception to follow). For more information and to book a spot, go here. The programme is as follows: Programme 2 pm Registration 2.30 Welcome Richard Turnor, Partner, […]

Metropolitan Museum buys Egyptian treasure

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 […]