Art Law Report Header-1

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

Posted by Nicholas O'Donnell on January 14, 2016 at 4:06 PM

The Geneva-based Foundation for Art Law (Fondation pour le Droit de l’Art/FDA) is organizing next month the latest in its series of events under the rubric “Art Finance & Law.” The conference is entitled “Art Finance & Law : Risks, Rules, and Opportunities in Investments in Art” (Art Finance & Law : Risques, règles et opportunités dans les investissements en art).  It will take place in Paris on February 12, 2016 at AXA Insurance, Hôtel de Vaupalière, 25 Avenue Matignon, from 14:00-18:00, in collaboration with l’Association d’Avocats  Conseils d’Enterprises (ACE, or the Assocation of Business Counsel Attorneys). 

Read More

Topics: Events, Art Finance & Law, Fondation pour le Droit de l'Art

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

Posted by Nicholas O'Donnell on December 10, 2015 at 6:34 AM

Last week the Art Law Committee of the New York City Bar Association hosted a terrific two-hour event. Entitled “Rethinking Art Authentication,” the discussion aimed to address a way forward from the problems of fakes, forgeries, and authentication lawsuits that have plagued the art market in recent years. It was a lively and fascinating evening.

Read More

Topics: Karl Waldmann, Ceroni, Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute, Leonardo da Vinci, Cady Noland, Knoedler, New York Assembly, Catalogue raisonée, authentication, Dean R. Nicyper, New York University, Colette Loll, Blue Room, Dan Flavin, Dada, Visual Artists Rights Act, Rick Johnson, Rethinking Art Authentication, The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduct, Jennifer L. Mass, Art Law Committee, Trial Lawyers Association, Beltracchi, Events, La Bella Principessa, Hyperspectral imaging, Gerhard Richter, New York City Bar Association, Cornell Tech, Rijksmuseum, Cowboys Milking, Andy Warhol, Picasso, New York Senate, Walter Benjamin, Elmyr de Hory, Withers Bergman LLP, Amadeo Modigliani, Amy M. Adler

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

Posted by Nicholas O'Donnell on November 25, 2015 at 10:49 AM

Registration is now available for an upcoming event about which we posted previously: The Art Law Committee of the New York City Bar Association’s “Rethinking Art Authentication” on December 2, 2015 at the City Bar's headquarters at 42 West 44th Street (between 5th and 6th Avenues).

Read More

Topics: Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute, Dean R. Nicyper, New York University, Colette Loll, Rick Johnson, Jennifer L. Mass, Art Law Committee, Events, New York City Bar Association, Cornell Tech, Rijksmuseum, Withers Bergman LLP, Amy M. Adler

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

Posted by Nicholas O'Donnell on November 18, 2015 at 10:34 AM

The Art Law Committee (of which I am a member) of the New York City Bar Association is holding a fascinating evening event on December 2, 2015 at the City Bar's headquarters at 42 West 44th Street (between 5th and 6th Avenues). Entitled “Rethinking Art Authentication,” the program will address issues that readers here will find familiar and yet challenging: the ongoing struggle against fakes and forgeries in the art market. From the flyer:

Read More

Topics: Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute, authentication, Dean R. Nicyper, New York University, Colette Loll, Rick Johnson, Jennifer L. Mass, Art Law Committee, Events, New York City Bar Association, Cornell Tech, Rijksmuseum, Withers Bergman LLP, Amy M. Adler

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

Posted by Nicholas O'Donnell on October 7, 2015 at 12:21 AM

Fresh off yesterday's panel at the IBA annual meeting in Vienna, I will be presenting a brown bag lunch lecture next week at the Boston Bar Association. Entitled "Art and the Digital Age," I'll explore what issues do digitization and a growing culture of appropriation create for the visual arts. In an era of social media and memes, a number of pitfalls and creative possibilities may not occur to the unwary. This talk will focus on what is and is not changing under the law, and what to look for in the future.

Read More

Topics: Boston Bar Association, Events, Copyright, Art and the Digital Age

Symposium: "Ethics and Cultural Patrimony - Viewpoints," in Paris October 20-21, 2015

Posted by Nicholas O'Donnell on September 24, 2015 at 8:22 AM

I am looking forward to participating next month in a symposium entitled :"Ethics and Cultural Patrimony: Viewpoints" at L'Ecole du Louvre in Paris on October 20-21, 2015. The event is organized by L’Institut Droit Ethique Patrimoine (Institute of Law, Ethics and Heritage), in partnership with l’Institut d’Etudes de droit public (Institute of Public Law Studies) and l’Ecole du Louvre, and take place at the Ecole du Louvre, Palais du Louvre, porte Jaujard, place du Carrousel, 75001 Paris. The conference website (with registration) can be found here, and the brochure can be opened here.

Read More

Topics: Bordeaux University Montaigne, cultural property, Lafferière-François Julien, Denis Michel Boëll, Ecole du Louvre, National Consultative Ethics Committee, Deaccession, Schwabinger Kunstfund, Marie Cornu, James Bradburne, Geraldine Goffaux Callebau, Musée de la Marine, Council of Voluntary Sales, Tehran, Astrid Müller-Katzenberg, Baptiste Brown, Conservation, ICOM, Marie Berducou, Stéphane Duroy, University of Toulouse Capitole, National Heritage Institute, Michel Van Praët, University of Shahid Beheshti, Paris, Philippe Durey, Arnaud Beaufort, University of Poitiers, University Western Bretagne, Nathalie Heinich, Milan, Julien Chapuis, Pinacoteca di Brera, French National Commission for UNESCO, Philippe-Henri Dutheil, University Rennes, Vincent Negri, Durey Philippe, Céline Castets- Fox, Gurlitt, Restitution, Sophie Vigneron, Bittoun Jacques, Sullivan & Worcester LLP, Events, University Institute of France, University of Kent, Museum for Byzantine Sculpture Collections and Art, National Library of France, Center for Research and Restoration of Museums of, Noëlle Timbart, Chadelat Catherine, Dominique Jarrassé, Claire Barbillon, Janicot Daniel, Gilles Ragot, University of Montreal, State Museums in Berlin, Nicholas M. O'Donnell, International Society For Law Research of Cultural, Edouard Planche, Emmanuelle Polack, Fromageau Jérôme, Université Paris Sud, EY Société d’avocats, Gautrais Vincent, Janet Blake

Appraisers Association of America Art Law Day at NYU, November 6, 2015

Posted by Nicholas O'Donnell on September 15, 2015 at 6:34 AM

I always look forward to registering for Art Law Day: Current Legal Issues for Appraisers, Attorneys, and Collectors hosted by the NYU School of Professional Studies and the Appraisers Association of America (in connection with the AAA annual meeting). This year’s schedule has been announced, and as usual it is excellent. Hope to see you there.

Read More

Topics: Heather Gray, Studio Legale Jacobacci & Associati, Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz P.C., Howard Spiegler, ARIS Title Insurance Corporation, John Cahill, Diana Wierbicki, Inc., Gary S. Castle, Baker & McKenzie, Art Law Day, Elysium Management LLC, Judith Pearson, Huntington T. Block, Linda Sandell, Gurr Johns, Adria Hillman, Lori Spector Fine Art, Ann-Marie Richard, Amy Goldrich, Marnin Michaels, Events, Massimo Sterpi, Elizabeth von Habsburg, Cahill Partners LLP, Ronald Minkoff, Robert Suiter, Herrick Feinstein LLP, Anchin Block & Anchin LLP, Zürich, Winston Art Group, Withers Bergman LLP, Lori Spector

Seventh Annual National Cultural Heritage Law Moot Court Competition in Chicago

Posted by Nicholas O'Donnell on September 10, 2015 at 12:05 PM

DePaul University College of Law and the Lawyers' Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservation have announced registration for the seventh annual National Cultural Heritage Law Moot Court Competition. The competition will be held February 26-27 at the Everett M. Dirksen United States Courthouse, in Chicago, Illinois. From the announcement:

Read More

Topics: National Cultural Heritage Law Moot Court Competit, Everett M. Dirksen United States Courthouse, Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, Chicago, Greece, Parthenon Marbles, DePaul University College of Law, British Museum, Events, Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Illinois, Lawyers' Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservat

“Between Fairness and Justice for Successors and Possessors”—an Upcoming Conference at the Oskar Reinhart Museum in Winterthur

Posted by Nicholas O'Donnell on August 24, 2015 at 5:37 AM

I won’t be in the neighborhood, but the Oskar Reinhart Museum in Winterthur (Switzerland) is putting on a conference for the second year in a row on August 31. 2015 wrestling with the issue of “flight goods” in particular. “Flight goods” refers to property that was not stolen outright, nor sold under duress, but left behind because of a flight in haste from persecution. Awareness has increased in recent years about this as a category of looted property to be addressed. As with other categories, issues of law, morality, and the rights of subsequent good faith owners/possessors make for interesting discussions. Notable presenters include Matthias Frehner, whose Kunstmuseum Bern is grappling with the Gurlitt bequest, and Anja Heuss, whose Staatsgalerie Stuttgart recently restituted a work to the heirs of I. Rosenbaum. All the speakers and topics look excellent.

Read More

Topics: Berlin, Dr. Peter Raue, Walter Feilchenfeldt, Esther Tisa Francini, Museum Rietberg, Olaf Ossmann, Cornelius Gurlitt, Marc Fehlmann, Art Dealers Association of Switzerland, Between Fairness and Justice for Successors and Po, Oskar Reinhart Museum, Anja Heuss, Kulturstiftung der Länder, Deutsches Zentrum Kulturgutverluste, Claudius Ochsner, Matthias Frehner, Alexander Jolles, Winterthur, Dr. Stephanie Tasch, Kunsthandelsverband der Schweiz, Karin Salm, Universität Salzburg, Thomas Buomberger, Restitution, Events, Johannes Nathan, Looted Art, World War II, Staatsgalerie Stuttgart, Switzerland, Kunstmuseum Bern, Andrea Baresel-Brand, flight goods, Zürich, Prof. Dr. Georg Graf, Radio SRF 2, I. Rosenbaum, Sibylle Ehringhaus

REMINDER: Art Crime and Cultural Heritage: Fakes, Forgeries, and Looted and Stolen Art at NYU June 4-6

Posted by Nicholas O'Donnell on May 27, 2015 at 5:41 AM

I am looking forward to next week’s Art Crime and Cultural Heritage symposium at NYU next month. I will be on a panel discussing the Gurlitt case moderated by Mel Urbach, along with Chris Marinello and Wesley Fisher. The program is as follows, and promises to be a fascinating event.

Read More

Topics: University of Kansas, Megan Fontanella, Jordan Arnold, Klein & Solomon LLP, International Foundation for Art Research, Jo Backer Laird, Amy Adler, Sandra Cobden, Alfred Flechtheim, Betty Little, NYU School of Law, Shawnee State University, Guggenheim Museum, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, Amr Al Azm, Christopher Robinson, Marla Diaz, ARIS Title Insurance Corporation, Judd Grossman, John Cahill, Alice Farren-Bradley, Inc., Boston University, Art Recovery Group, David Goldstein, Eleonora Nagy, Schiele, Jane C. H. Jacob, James Martin, Pryor Cashman LLP, Karl Geercken, Judith Pearson, Doreen Bolger, Kevin Ray, Museum of Modern Art, Peter Herdrich, Mel Urbach, ARIS, Chris Marinello, III, Pierre Ciric, Arader Galleries, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, William L Charron, Christie's Inc., On the Shore of the Seine, Spencer Tomkins, W. Graham Arader, K2 Intelligence, MaryKate Cleary, Laurie Rush, Modern Sculpture Conservation LLC, Ciric Law Firm PLLC; Holocaust Art Restitution Pro, lston & Bird LLP, James Butterwick, Auctionata, Restitution, Colleen St Onge, Jonathan Illari, President’s Cultural Property Advisory Committee, Asian Art Research & Appraisals, Sullivan & Worcester LLP, Events, Simon Hornby, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Bonnie Magness-Gardiner, Art Dealers Association of America Jane Levine, Jacob Fine Art, Wesley Fisher, Harry Ettlinger, Herrick Feinstein LLP, Baltimore Museum of Art, Portrait of Wally, Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens, Nicholas O'Donnell, National Stolen Art File and Art Crime Team, Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germa, Francis O'Connor, IFAR, Sotheby's, Bonhams, The Heritas Group, Ken Perenyi, Patricia J. Graham, Emily Kempin Professor of Law, Whitney Museum of American Art, Meridith Savona, Tim Carpenter, Vienna, Megan Noh, Butterwick Gallery LLC, Paysage Bords de Seine, Museum Security Network, Leopold Museum, Crozier Fine Arts Inc., Art Law Report, Mari-Claudia Jiménez, Sharon Flescher, Michael Danti, Holly Keris

Sullivan logo

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.

Meet the Editor

Subscribe to Blog

Recent Posts

Posts by Topic

see all