Nicholas O'Donnell
Nick’s practice focuses primarily on complex civil litigation. He represents manufacturers, individuals, investment advisers, banks, and others around the world in contract, securities, consumer protection, tort and domestic relations cases, with particular experience in the German-speaking world. He is also the editor of the Art Law Report, a blog that provides timely updates and commentary on legal issues in the museum and visual arts communities, one of his areas of expertise. Nick is a member of the Art Law Committee of the New York City Bar Association. Additionally, Nick has authored and contributed to several books on art law: — A Tragic Fate—Law and Ethics in the Battle Over Nazi-Looted Art, (Ankerwyke/ABA Publishing, 2017) — “Public Trust or Private Business? Deaccessioning Law and Ethics in the United States,” in Éthique et Patrimoine Culturel - Regard Croisés, G. Goffaux, ed., (L’Harmattan, 2016) — “Vergangenheit als Zukunft? Restitutionsstreitigkeiten in den Vereinigten Staaen,” in Ersessene Kunst—Der Fall Gurlitt, J. Heil and A. Weber, eds., (Metropol, 2015) — “Nazi-Looted Art—Risks and Best Practices for Museums,” in The Legal Guide for Museum Professionals, Julia Courtney, ed., (2015, Rowman & Littlefield)
A terrific pair of events organized by the Art Law Foundation in Geneva has been accounced. As the Foundation describes it:
The aim of the series is to examine the growing practice of art investments, and the use of art as an investment asset. Various top speakers from academia and practice will explore securitisation of art as an asset, the differences between art funds and hedge funds, the peculiarities of the portfolio and fund management, the different types of loans against art collateral, and the risks and rules for art investments.
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Topics:
William Pearlstein,
Art Finance,
Sotheby’s Financial Services,
Philip Hoffman,
Emigrant Bank Fine Art Finance,
Tim Hunter,
Art Business and Research Unit at Sotheby’s Instit,
Art Law Foundation,
London,
Melanie Gerlis,
David Arendt,
The Art Newspaper,
Geneva,
Oblyon Art Business Intelligence,
Paul Aitken,
Marco Mercanti,
Falcon Fine Art,
Events,
Sebastian Fahey,
Stefanie Berloffa-Spadafora,
Anna Dempster,
borro,
Li Jun Xian,
The Luxembourg Freeport,
Fine Art Fund Group,
Art Finance And Law Conference Series
There were reports over the weekend that the Gurlitt Task Force, currently reviewing the provenance of more than 900 of the 1,280 works of art seized from Cornelius Gurlitt’s apartment, may not complete that review within the year reportedly set out in the agreement between Bavaria and Gurlitt before he died. There is still confusion about whether the Task Force was indeed foreshadowing a missed deadline (the agreement was in April, so the notion that the review would continue “into 2015” is not necessarily inconsistent with completing its task within one year), but assuming it was, what happens then?
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Topics:
Focus,
Schwabinger Kunstfund,
Hildebrand Gurlitt,
Cornelius Gurlitt,
Gurlitt Task Force,
Nazi-looted art,
Gurlitt Collection,
Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act,
Commission for Looted Art in Europe,
Entartete Kunst,
Anne Webber,
Restitution,
Der Spiegel,
World War II,
degenerate art,
Kunstmuseum Bern,
verschollene Kunst,
Münchner Kunstfund
Judge Rhodes has approved the plan of adjustment for Detroit to emerge from bankruptcy. More analysis to come, but most critically for our purposes it affirms the Grand Bargain and the security of the collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts. We'll post the full opinion when it's published, but notably, Nathan Bomey at the Detroit Free Press reported from the courtroom that Judge Rhodes praised the decision not to sell the DIA collection: "Maintaining the art at the DIA is critical to maintaining the feasibility of the city's plan of adjustment and the city's future."
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Topics:
Judge Rhodes,
Detroit,
Detroit Institute of Arts,
Bankruptcy,
Detroit Free Press,
Detroit Bankruptcy
In between enjoying another excellent Art Law Day today at NYU, I am pleased to report that Sullivan & Worcester LLP’s Art and Museum Group scored a significant win this week. Our client Artmentum GmbH was sued in New York for $204 million in connection with a potential art collection sale. The plaintiff Art Assure Ltd., LLC and its principal Asher Edelman accused my clients of fraud and breach of contract, which they denied categorically. The matter was entitled ArtAssure Ltd., LLC v. Artmentum GmbH et al., No. 1:14-cv-3756 (LGS).
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Topics:
No. 1:14-cv-3756 (LGS),
Art Assure Ltd. LLC,
Collections,
Asher Edelman,
Artmentum GmbH,
Sullivan & Worcester LLP,
Art and Museum Law Group,
Litigation,
ArtAssure Ltd. LLC v. Artmentum GmbH et al.
It has now been one year since Focus magazine in Germany broke the Cornelius Gurlitt story on November 3, 2013. Looking back at the history of the case as it has unfolded since then, the overriding theme has been difficulty in obtaining accurate information about the current state of affairs. The appointed Task Force has made only two recommendations, and the status of the bequest to the Kunstmuseum Bern is still up in the air. And nobody seems remotely pleased.
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Topics:
Focus,
Schwabinger Kunstfund,
Hildebrand Gurlitt,
Cornelius Gurlitt,
Drefsden,
Gurlitt Task Force,
Nazi-looted art,
Gurlitt Collection,
Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act,
Lex Gurlitt,
Entartete Kunst,
Salzburg,
Bundesrat,
Restitution,
Der Spiegel,
World War II,
Foreign Sovereign Immunities,
Switzerland,
degenerate art,
Kunstmuseum Bern,
verschollene Kunst,
Münchner Kunstfund,
Ronald Lauder
Several weeks ago, the parties to the appeal over the constitutionality of the California Resale Royalty Act (CRRA) briefed the question about whether the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals should hear the case, rather than a three-judge panel that would otherwise be assigned to the case. The Ninth Circuit granted the petition yesterday, meaning the appeal will now go before the full court.
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Topics:
Legislation,
Foie Gras,
538 U.S. 644,
N. Randy Smith,
729 F.3d 937,
Auction Houses,
California Health & Safety Code § 25982,
Chuck Close,
730 F.3d 1070,
Moral Rights,
Commerce Clause,
Affordable Care Act,
Ass’n des Eleveurs de Canards et d’Oies du Quebec,
Judge Jacqueline H. Nguyen,
Jerrold Nadler,
Christie's,
Research & Mfrs. of Am. v. Walsh,
California Resale Royalties Act,
Ethanol,
Dormant Commerce Clause,
491 U.S. 324,
U.S. Constitution,
Copyright,
royalties,
Garcia,
Ninth Circuit,
Cal. Code Regs. tit. 17 §§ 95480–90,
Sotheby's,
Rocky Mountain Farmers Union v. Corey,
Healy v. Beer Inst.,
Ferdinand F. Fernandez,
eBay,
Google,
Mary H. Murguia
Restitution policy at the federal and state level in Germany in recent months seems to have taken a certain direction that has been cause for criticism. Whether it is the recent decisions by the Limbach Commission that ignore longstanding law about sales under duress, the odd decision by the Federal Republic of Germany to resist a lawsuit over the Max Liebermann painting found in Cornelius Gurlitt’s apartment that the Gurlitt Task Force has already recommended be restituted, or the resistance to the claims by the Mendelssohn-Bartholdy heirs to Picasso’s Madame Soler, the trend has been towards obstruction and resistance rather than transparency and reconciliation. Notwithstanding the recent announcement of the Center for Cultural Property losses (the Deutsches Zentrum für Kulturgutverluste about which the jury is still out), this is cause for concern.
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Topics:
Katharina Siefert,
Schwabinger Kunstfund,
Cornelius Gurlitt,
Karlsruhe Kunsthalle,
Freien Kunst- und Ritterschießen,
Badische Landesmuseum,
Max Liebermann,
Bamberg,
Gurlitt Collection,
Woman in a Theatre Balcony,
Lothar Franz von Schönborn,
Madame Soler,
Schönborn’sche Löwenpokal,
Heinrich and Emma Budge,
Reich Ministry for Art- and Museum Objects,
Schönborn Lion Cup,
Restitution,
Upper Franconia,
Mendelssohn-Bartholdy,
Mannheim,
Karlsruhe,
Free and Knightly Art of Shooting,
World War II,
Elector-Bishop,
Kurfürst,
Reichserziehungsministerium für Kunst- und Museums,
Kurt Martin,
www.lostart.de,
Center for Cultural Property,
Museums,
Fürst-Bischof,
Picasso,
Federal Republic of Germany,
Deutsches Zentrum für Kulturgutverluste,
Limbach Commission,
Oberfranken,
Prince-Elector of Mainz
Art Law Day at the Appraisers Association of America’s annual conference is next Friday, November 7, 2014 at NYU's Kimmel Center. Sullivan & Worcester LLP will be sponsoring the event as a Friend of Art Law Day this year, about which we are very excited.
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Topics:
The Changing Laws for the Sale of Endangered Speci,
Monica Kreshik,
NYU SCPS,
International Director of Restitution,
The Frick Collection,
miGavel Auctions/Lark Mason Associates,
Resale Royalties,
Pollock-Krasner Foundation,
Betty Krulik Fine Art Limited,
American Royalties Too Act,
Michael McCullough,
Pearlstein & McCullough LLP,
authentication,
IRS/Tax Free Exchange,
Richard Levin,
New York University,
American Alliance of Museums,
Suzanne Goldstein Baker,
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service,
Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP,
Art Law Day,
Department of Environmental Conservation,
Ulf Biscof,
New Legislation for Authentication Experts,
Baker Tilly Virchow Krause LLP,
Jerrold Nadler,
Christie's,
Appraisal,
Detroit Institute of Arts,
Amy Goldrich,
Betty Krulik,
Restitution,
Randi Schuster,
Events,
Christopher Marinello Art Recovery International L,
Cahill Partners LLP,
Elizabeth von Habsburg Winston Art Group,
Monica Dugot,
Copyright,
Appraisers Association of America,
Marianne Rosenberg,
Terry Shtob,
Antiquities,
Ford W. Bell,
Craig Hoover,
Bankruptcy and the Detroit Institute of Arts,
Lark Mason,
Kimmel Center,
Wildlife Trade and Conservation Branch,
Detroit Bankruptcy,
Diane Wierbicki,
Investment Property Exchange Services,
Samuel Sachs II,
Biscof & Paetow Rechtsanwälte,
Withers Bergman LLP,
Judith Bresler,
Paul Rosenberg
Two weeks ago, the Federal Republic of Germany and Bavaria moved to dismiss the restitution claims brought by David Toren over ownership of Two Riders on the Beach (Zwei Ritter am Strand) by the German painter Max Liebermann. Toren’s uncle David Friedmann owned the painting in Breslau before he was targeted for his collection and it was stolen. Toren had not seen it since adolescence. The painting is further notable for two (related) reasons: it is among the 1,280 works of art found in Cornelius Gurlitt’s apartment in 2012, and it is one of only two that the Gurlitt Task Force has recommended be restituted (to Toren). As we noted at the time of the motion, Germany’s tactics seemed odd; Bavaria has committed to complying with the Task Force’s recommendations, and contesting this case seems to make little sense. The likeliest reason, in our view, is to try to make some jurisdictional law that will weaken other potential claimants to the Gurlitt trove.
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Topics:
Schwabinger Kunstfund,
Hildebrand Gurlitt,
Cornelius Gurlitt,
Breslau,
Max Liebermann,
Germany,
Silesia,
Gurlitt Collection,
Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act,
bailment,
Entartete Kunst,
FSIA,
Restitution,
Bavaria,
David Toren,
Zwei Ritter am Strand,
Free State of Bavaria,
28 U.S.C. § 1605(a)(2),
Looted Art,
World War II,
Foreign Sovereign Immunities,
Altmann v. Republic of Austria,
Freistaat Bayern,
Kunstmuseum Bern,
Riders on the Beach,
Federal Republic of Germany,
Raubkunst,
David Friedmann,
Münchner Kunstfund
I enjoyed a terrific panel discussion organized by Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts in New York Tuesday evening at Herrick, Feinstein LLP. Entitled "Saving Africa’s Elephants Changing the Art Scene," the panel addressed the ramifications of this year’s Director’s Order that banned the import of African Elephant ivory for any commercial use, and restricted even further non-commercial use.
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Topics:
David Freudenthal,
Pearlstein and McCullough,
Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts,
iGavel,
Michael McCullough,
Saving Africa’s Elephants Changing the Art Scene,
Frank Lord,
US Fish and Wildlife Service,
Christie's,
Hartley Waltman,
Carnegie Hall,
Events,
ivory ban,
Herrick Feinstein LLP,
Craig Hoover,
Lark Mason,
Customs,
New York
