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Responsible Art Market Initiative (NY) Series: Risks in the Contemporary Art Market Focus on Data & Analytics

Preventing Art Crimes Through Regulation and Self-Regulation: Conference September 30, 2024

Federal Appeals Court Strikes Another Blow to Chabad Cultural Property Claims Against Russia

Allentown Art Museum to Auction Cranach Painting Once Owned by Collector Persecuted in Nazi Germany

Schiele Drawing Returned to Heirs by Family that Also Fled Nazi Persecution

Best Practices for Nazi-Era Art Presented at Special Event in Washington

March 1, 2024 Event: “Protecting Cultural Property: The 1954 Hague Convention at 70”

Symposium at the University of Kansas: “A Museum's Purpose”

Responsible Art Market Initiative—Annual Conference January 25, 2024 in Geneva

Thyssen-Bornemisza wins Pissarro painting sold under Nazi duress by Lilly Cassirer

Lawsuit Seeking to Stop Deaccessioning of Paintings at Valparaiso is Dismissed

German High Court Rules Painting Will Stay Listed in Nazi-Era Lost Art Provenance Database

New Article in Apollo magazine: The Supreme Court has saved the Andy Warhol Foundation from itself

Look to the Purpose, not the Meaning—Supreme Court Rejects Warhol Foundation’s Fair Use Defense Against Lynn Goldsmith

Join the Responsible Art Market Initiative March 2, 2023 at Phillips in New York

Save the Date! The Responsible Art Market Initiative Comes to New York March 2, 2023

"Why Germany has the Prussian blues" in Apollo Magazine

Van Gogh Dispute and Temporary Exhibition Loan Collide at Detroit Institute of Arts

Responsible Art Market Initiative Annual Conference—Evolutions in Collecting Art: Practices and Challenges

September 21, 2022 Event—Issues on Art, Artifacts and Archeology

New Law Requires Museums in New York to Display Information About Nazi Art Looting, May be More Complicated than it Looks

Sullivan files Supreme Court Amicus Brief to Clarify Fair Use and Transformativeness in Warhol’s Use of Lynn Goldsmith’s Prince Photos

“ENABLERS Act” Pursues Art Market but Threatens Longstanding Protections Against Government Intrusion

Harvard Can be Sued Over Louis Agassiz Slave Daguerreotypes from 1850

Responsible Art Market Initiative­--Intermediaries and Sustainability in the Art Market January 28, 2022 in Geneva

Sullivan Files Supreme Court Amicus Brief with former State Department Legal Adviser in Nazi-looted Art Case

Art Dealer and Holocaust Claimant Asks Supreme Court to Hear Dispute Over Poland’s Vendetta Against Him

FinCEN Issues Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to Regulate Dealers in Antiquities

Virtual Fever, the New Pandemic? Trends in International Property, Art, Space, and Technology Law in Berlin October 11-12

Sullivan Art Law Practice Recognized by Chambers and Partners Rankings

Alexander Khochinsky Petitions DC Circuit to Rehear en banc His Holocaust Restitution Retaliation Case Against Poland

Art disputes and how to avoid them--presented by the IBA Art, Cultural Institutions and Heritage Law Committee

FinCEN Signals Suspicion of Art Market Even Before AML Study Begins

Event-“Legal and Ethical Challenges in Art Collection Stewardship.”

Syracuse to Host “Deaccessioning After 2020” March 17-19, 2021

Event—Innovation and change in a Responsible Art Market

Congress Steps up Oversight of Art and Antiquities Markets

At U.S. Supreme Court, Jewish Heirs Lay Claim to Treasure Taken by Nazi Agents in 1935

Responsible Art Market Initiative (New York) to Hold Webinar Series on Money Laundering and Corporate Transparency

A Deaccessioning Decision Tree Grows in Brooklyn—Selling Museum Art in Hard Times

“Moralistic Preening” and Broken Commitments Under the Washington Principles—Ninth Circuit Chastises Spain for Keeping Nazi-looted Pissarro but Rules Painting Will not Return to Cassirer Family

U.S. Senate Report Takes a Swing at Money Laundering in the Art Market But Strikes Out on Substance

U.S. Supreme Court Will Hear Germany’s Appeal to Keep the Guelph Treasure, Taken by Nazi Agents in 1935

Guelph Treasure Heirs Respond to U.S. Brief that Argued Nazi Art Theft Was a Domestic Affair

U.S. Solicitor General’s Office Advocates Broad Impunity for Nazi Art Thefts

Paddle 8 Creditors Battle Over Scope of New York Consignment Law

My column in Apollo Magazine on museums and deaccessioning in crisis

Fate of Museum Collections and Endowments Presents Hard Questions in Hard Times­

The Taxman Cometh­—Christie’s Penalty is the Latest Example of Sales and Use Tax Pitfalls

Ten Years Later—Lessons Learned from the Museum of Fine Arts Boston Kokoschka Case

Paddle 8 Bankruptcy a Harbinger in the Time of COVID19 and the Coming Art World Crisis

No Excuses left—SPK Restitutes Han Baldung Grien to Persecuted Artist's Heirs for Reasons that Germany Denies to Jewish Victims

Responsible Art Market Initiative Event in Geneva January 31, 2020—An Art Market in Evolution

In the Great Green Room, There was…a Shocking Theft—Historic Robbery in Dresden at State Art Collections

France Rejects Poland’s Bad Faith Efforts to Extradite Art Dealer Alexander Khochinsky

Heirs of Holocaust Victim Fritz Grünbaum Win Restitution of Nazi-Looted Schiele Drawings

Guelph Treasure Claims to Go Forward

Radio Interview Examines Recent Nazi-Looted Art Court Decisions

Knoedler Gallery Owners May be Liable for Forgery Scandal, Jury Will Decide

Thyssen-Bornemisza Prevails Over Cassirer Heirs' Claim to Pissarro Taken by Nazis Despite Acts “Inconsistent with the Washington Principles”

Building a Responsible Art Market in New York May 23, 2019

The Responsible Art Market Initiative is Coming to New York on May 23, 2019

Germany and its Federal States Announce Collective Declaration with Respect to Colonial Artifacts and Human Remains

Poland Renews Efforts to Extradite Art Dealer Alexander Khochinsky, Whose 2018 Lawsuit Seeks Damages for Poland’s Previous Retaliation for his WW II Restitution Claims

Event: A Responsible Art Market in Practice, February 1, 2019 in Geneva

Planned gifts can lead to hard feelings without careful planning and managed expectations

Event—Global Auction House Summit in London, February 4-6, 2019

Zum Geburtstag Viel Glück? The Washington Principles Turn 20

RESCHEDULED Event: "Looted Art for Sale" at Brandeis University November 6, 2018

Deletion of Grünbaum Works from Lost Art Database Shows Again How German Government Has Lost Its Way on Nazi-Looted Art

Berkshire Museum Tries to End-Run Pending Appeal but Member Plaintiffs Decline to be Bullied

Norton Simon Museum Wins Appeal Over Nazi-Looted Cranach Paintings

Event—The Future of Nazi-Looted Art Recovery in the US and Abroad

Court of Appeals Upholds Claims to Renowned Guelph Treasure Sold Under Duress to Nazi Agents

Au Revoir, Droit de Suite—9th Circuit Narrows California Resale Royalty Act to a Single Year’s Sales

Alexander Khochinsky Files Suit Against Poland for Retaliation Related to WW II Property Claims

Sullivan & Worcester LLP Assists in Relocation of "Digital DNA" from Palo Alto to Harvard

A Step Back from the Brink—Agnes Martin Authentication Board Prevails in Court

Bill Introduced in U.S. House of Representatives Would Impose Money Laundering Reporting Requirements on Art Dealers

New Court of Arbitration for Art to Launch in June, Offers Exciting Opportunity for the Art Market

Event—Deaccessioning: Art, Morals, and the Law

What About Margarethe Mauthner? Van Gogh Once Owned by Elizabeth Taylor Heads to Auction Again with Scant Mention of its Persecuted Former Owner

A Signpost for Artists’ Rights or the Beginning of the End? 5Pointz Damages Award May be A Fork in the Road

Event: "Looted Art for Sale" at Brandeis University March 21, 2018

Members of the Berkshire Museum Ask Supreme Judicial Court to Stop Berkshire Museum’s Deaccession Plan

Members of the Berkshire Museum Pledge to Continue Fight Against Liquidation of the Museum’s Art Collection

"A Tragic Fate" Lecture at DePaul Center for Art, Museum & Cultural Heritage Law February 26, 2018

Artist Adriana Varella Demands that the City of Palo Alto Halt its Plans to Remove Her Renowned Work "Digital DNA"

Members of the Berkshire Museum File Appeal Papers to Stop Museum's Planned Sale of 40 Works from its Collection

“Building an Art Market 2.0”—Responsible Art Market Initiative Event February 2, 2018 in Geneva

"A Tragic Fate" named to Kirkus Reviews 100 Best of 2017

Injunction Against Berkshire Museum Sale Is Extended

Key Tax Deferral Tool for Art Sales on the Chopping Block in U.S. Legislation Proposals

Something’s Rotten in Düsseldorf—Max Stern Exhibition Cancelled in Response to Restitution Claim

Event—Wealth Management Strategies for Art Collectors

Members of the Berkshire Museum Appeal Ruling on Planned Sale of Critical Pieces of its Collection

Appeals Court Stays Sale of Berkshire Museum Paintings

Massachusetts AG Asks Appeals Court to Halt Monday's Berkshire Museum Sale

Members of Berkshire Museum File Suit Seeking Injunction Against Sale of Art Collection

Germany Identifies Painting from Gurlitt Collection as Nazi-Looted, Progress and Credibility Still Uncertain

Event at DePaul—Human Rights and Cultural Heritage: A New Paradigm.

New York Event—“Off the Wall: Legal Issues Involving Street Art”

When Will We Get There?  The World Gathers in London to Consider the State of Restitution of Nazi-Looted Art.

Rich Man/Poor Man?  The Berkshire Museum and Why Deaccessioning is so Frustrating

“Nazi-Looted Art: From Fair and Just Solutions to Litigation” in London September 13, 2017

Herzog Heirs Win Again in Appeals Court on Jurisdiction Over Hungarian Museums

Review: “Managing Relationships in the Art Market” by Annelien Bruins

Event: "Master Thieves" Author Stephen Kurkjian at the Massachusetts Historical Society July 6

Praise from Kirkus Reviews for "A Tragic Fate"

New Book by Nicholas M. O'Donnell: "A Tragic Fate--Law and Ethics in the Battle Over Nazi Looted Art"

Pissarro from Cornelius Gurlitt’s Salzburg Home Returned to Heirs

This Painting is My Speech, This Painting is Your Speech—Government Scores a Win in Capitol Painting Controversy

Event in Canterbury (UK)—"Cultural Heritage in Danger: Illicit Trafficking, Armed Conflicts and Cultural Diplomacy"

Next week in Vienna: “Accepting and Holding Objects ‘in Trust’—an International and Interdisciplinary Perspective”

McDonald's Beats Graffiti Copyright Claims in California, But Faces New Threat over New York Street Art

“Charging Bull” Sculptor Articulates VARA Complaint, But “Fearless Girl” Still Standing Firm

Nazi-Looting and Forced Sales Support Jurisdiction—Guelph Treasure Ruling Analysis

U.S. District Court Issues First of Its Kind Ruling Against Germany Over Renowned Guelph Treasure

"Fearless Girl" Sculpture Near Wall Street Prompts Copyright Allegation That is More Bull than Bear

Art Advisors and Duty of Loyalty in Focus Again Over Sale of Basquiat

Battle Over Controversial Student Art in U.S. Capitol Lands in Court—First Amendment in Focus Again

Sea Change in Nazi-looted Art Claims? The HEAR Act is Put Into Action

New Publication: Éthique et patrimoine culturel—Regard croisés

Recap and Analysis: Responsible Art Market Initiative Launched in Geneva

Conference in Cambridge—“From Refugees to Restitution: The History of Nazi Looted Art in the UK in Transnational Perspective”

Fake News, Fake Art?  Richard Prince Disavows Work Depicting Ivanka Trump

Geneva Event: Building an Art Market for the Future—Guidelines for Countering Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Threats

Jurisdictional Law Hailed as Impetus to End Russian Art Loan Embargo that is Actually Unaffected by that Law

Gurlitt Bequest to Kunstmuseum Bern is Upheld

Art Advisors are Not Always Fiduciaries—Lawsuit over Cady Noland "Log Cabin" Dismissed

Looted Art Legislation—HEAR Act and Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Clarification Act Set to Become Law

Heirs of Nazi-Persecuted Art Dealer Alfred Flechtheim Sue Bavarian Museums

Is Coopting Graffiti Artist's Street Cred a Fair Use?

Exhibition Interference Shows That Public Institutions Still Struggle with First Amendment

Changes to Limbach Commission Announced, Real Change Now Seems Out of Reach

Important Changes to HEAR Act Preserve New York’s Demand and Refusal Rule (For Now)

Event: Art Crime Symposium November 1-3, 2016 in New York

New Authentication Lawsuit Filed Against Agnes Martin Catalogue Raisonné

"Risks in the Attribution of Works of Art": November 8, 2016 in Geneva

Event: DePaul Moot Court Competition in Cultural Property in February

Restitution Claims Resolved in New York and Cologne, New Case Filed Against Germany

Restitution Legislation: HEAR Act and Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Clarification Act Move Forward

Making Sense of the Peter Doig Trial and the Authentication Fallout

Norton Simon Museum Prevails Against Von Saher Claim to Cranachs Looted by the Nazis

More of the Same—Latest Limbach Commission “Reform” is Anything But

Methinks Thou Doth Protest too Much—Bavaria Scrambles Defensively After Revelation of Looted Art Sales to Nazi Families

Another Bombshell in Munich—Bavarian Government Sold Looted Art to Nazi Families

Opportunity Lost: Germany Enacts Revised Cultural Property Export Restrictions

If it Ain’t Broke?…Ninth Circuit Announces Curious Test of “Applied Art” Under VARA

HEAR Act: Senate Judiciary Committee Considers Nazi-Looted Art Statute of Limitations Bill

Event—Second All Art and Cultural Heritage Law Conference in Geneva, June 24-25, 2016

Is Graffiti Ineligible for Copyright Protection Just Because the Act of Tagging is Illegal?

Guelph Treasure Heirs Explain Why Case Belongs in U.S. Court

FBI Returns to House Where it Did Not Find Gardner Museum Art Before, Does Not Find Gardner Museum Art There

Potemkin Village Deferred—Planned Exhibition of Gurlitt Trove is Postponed

Events—Authentication in Art Congress May 11-13, 2016 in The Hague

California Resale Royalty Act Claims Dismissed as Preempted by Copyright Law, Despite 1980 Ninth Circuit Holding to the Contrary

HEAR Act Introduced by Sen. Ted Cruz to Create Federal Standard for Holocaust Art Claims

Don’t Shoot the Messenger—Student Art Removed, First Amendment Notwithstanding

Event—The Perspective of the Art Market in Italy

Herzog Heirs’ Claims Against Hungary Survive Dismissal Under FSIA

Event—“Intersections in Cultural Heritage Law” at Georgetown University Law Center March 29-30, 2016

“Mattress Performance” Title IX Lawsuit Against Columbia Is Dismissed

Germany Relents on Nazi-Looted Art Advisory Commission Jewish Membership

Germany Keeps Digging—Explanation for Excluding Jewish Member from Nazi-looted Art Advisory Commission is Worse than Before

Live from the Oscars! German Cultural Ministry Disparages Possible Inclusion of Jewish Member on Advisory Commission

Events: Lawyers’ Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservation Conference on Friday, March 25, 2016

Time to Go—Flechtheim Heirs Withdraw from Limbach Commission That Has Outlived its Usefulness

Not Just Germany—UK Imposes Export Ban on (Swiss!) Giacometti Sculpture

Léone Meyer and University of Oklahoma Settle Nazi-looted Pissarro Dispute

Flechtheim Heirs Suspend Limbach Commission Proceedings Over Juan Gris Painting in Düsseldorf

"Rime" Graffiti Case Against Moschino Survives Dismissal

Buyer Beware (Again)—Art Dealer Charged with Selling Forged Paintings

Katherine Craig Files VARA Claim over Illuminated Mural—“Recognized Stature” and Terms of Agreement Will be Critical

Court Enters Final Dismissal of “Monkey Selfie” Case

Gerhard Richter and German Cultural Heritage Protection Law—Brooklyn Law School February 3, 2016

“Final Report” of Gurlitt Task Force Presented to German Government—Process Continues to Raise More Questions Than Answers

Art Finance & Law : Risks, Rules, and Opportunities in Investments in Art, February 12, 2016 in Paris

Supreme Court Declines Review of California Resale Royalty Case

Naruto, We Hardly Knew Ye—Judge Calls Monkeyshines on "Monkey Selfie" Case

Here We Go Again?  Richard Prince Sued By Photographer Over Images of Rastafarian in Instagram Show

Court-Solicited Opinion Reportedly Concludes That Gurlitt Was Competent To Make Will

No Buried Nazi Gold Train After All?

Gurlitt Task Force Issues Fifth Recommendation for Restitution

PETA and Opponents Sling Arguments In “Monkey Selfie” Copyright Case

Recap of “Rethinking Art Authentication” at the New York City Bar

UPDATED­—Rethinking Art Authentication—December 2, 2015 at the NY City Bar Association

Widespread Criticism Continues from Historians Over Germany’s and SPK’s Revisionism Concerning Holocaust and Forced Sales of Art

Rethinking Art Authentication—December 2, 2015 at the New York City Bar Association

Leonard Peltier and Public Displays of Art—The Government Taking Sides on Whose Paintings are Shown Stirs Up First Amendment Problems

Despite Universal Criticism, German Cabinet Approves Stricter Cultural Heritage Law

New VARA Ruling Muddies Analysis on Moral Rights and Significance of “Site Specific” Art

Holocaust Revisionism in German Motion to Dismiss Guelph Claim Elicits Condemnation

Graffiti on the Runway: Street Artist Rime Pursues Lawsuit Against Moschino for Damaging His Street Cred

Bruegel Painting In Vienna Spurs Argument Over Allegations of Nazi Looting in Poland

The New Domestic “Freeports”: Sales and Use Tax Opportunities and Risks

Google Books, Fair Use, and Visual Art—Second Circuit Writes Decision That Would Have Helped Two Years Ago

Gurlitt Collection May be Displayed Next Year, Real Progress Still Elusive as Focus Remains on Public Relations

Art and the Digital Age, Wednesday 10/14 at the Boston Bar Association

In Vino Veritas—Second Circuit Upholds Damages in Counterfeit Wine Koch Brother Case With Implications for Art Sales

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About the Blog

The Art Law Report provides timely updates and commentary on legal issues in the museum and visual arts communities. It is authored by Nicholas M. O'Donnell, partner in our Art & Museum Law Practice.

The material on this site is for general information only and is not legal advice. No liability is accepted for any loss or damage which may result from reliance on it. Always consult a qualified lawyer about a specific legal problem.

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