Tag Archives: sothebys

Berkshire Museum Deaccession Nears Completion

Posted on: August 30, 2018 by Hélène Deslauriers

After more than a year of press coverage, protests and condemnation of the Berkshire Museum Board of Trustees, the Berkshire Museum’s deaccession of 40 works from its collection is nearing completion. In addition, the Board of Trustees finally came to an agreement with the Attorney-General of Massachusetts. Here are the salient points: The Attorney General is […]

The Fatimid jar dispute and the 1970 UNESCO Convention

Posted on: July 9, 2018 by Alexander Herman

An interesting case came down last month from the High Court in London in the matter of Jeddi v Sotheby’s. The case was brought by an Iranian antiquities dealer named Ali Jeddi against Sotheby’s UK for refusing to return his property, a 10th century Fatimid jar made of translucent quartz and finely decorated with images of […]

Art & Taxation Afternoon Seminar

Posted on: June 8, 2018 by Holly Woodhouse

Yesterday, on Thursday the 7th June, the Institute of Art and Law held an afternoon seminar at the Swedenborg Society, with the gracious support of Hunters Solicitors. The focus of the day was Art and Taxation, drawing together a dynamic programme of topics including, tax planning, tax incentives, disputes and VAT in relation to art […]

New speaker added to the Art & Taxation Afternoon Seminar

Posted on: May 31, 2018 by Kiri Cragin Folwell

We are pleased to announce that Clarissa Vallat will be joining us as a panellist at our Art & Taxation Afternoon Seminar on 7 June. Clarissa is a Director of Tax, Heritage & UK Museums at Sotheby’s. Other speakers at the event include: Roderick Cordara QC, barrister, Essex Court Chambers Ruth Cornett, Director, Heritage & Taxation Advisory […]

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 […]

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 […]

Upcoming Shows on Appropriation and Pop Art

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 […]

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 […]

Seminar next week on Succession Planning for Art

Posted on: February 19, 2015 by Ruth Redmond-Cooper

A reminder that the evening seminar, Succession Planning for Art: Owners, Collectors and Creators, will run this Wednesday, 25th February 2015, at Collyer Bristow LLP in London. It will cover the ways in which artists, dealers and collectors can plan for the treatment of works of art following death, touching upon the following areas: gifts, loans, wills, […]