(Germany’s highest court issued a much-anticipated ruling on a challenge by a collector to the listing of his painting in the so-called Lost Art database in Magdeburg, Germany. The Bundesgerichtshof (BGH) ruled that the listing will not be deleted where “based on true facts.” The ruling underscores the informative, rather than legal, nature of the database, which describes itself as documenting “cultural property that was either demonstrably seized from their owners between 1933 and 1945 as a result of Nazi persecution, or for which such a seizure cannot be ruled out.” Insofar as the case just decided involves a well-known victim of Nazi-persecution, the clarification is a welcome and important one. As always in this area, however, the hard cases are harder. The case stopped short of resolving more nuanced cases, or addressing what recourse a collector might have in situations where a listing effectively makes a painting impossible to sell. Perhaps the best course would be to take heed of the way the court decided this case: the database is a critical tool of information, but a less useful one when it comes to sorting out legal rights.
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Topics:
Lost Art Database,
Germany,
Bundesgerichtshof,
Van Gogh,
Magdeburg,
Nazi persecution,
BGH,
IFAR,
Art Loss Register,
A Tragic Fate,
Girl from the Sabine Mountains,
Francis Xavier Winterhalter,
Vue de l'asile et de la Chapelle de Saint-Rémy,
Elizabeth Taylor,
German Lost Art Foundation,
Calabrian Coast,
Kalabrische Küste,
Concordia University,
Zentrum für Kulturgutverluste,
ALR,
Düsseldorf,
Bettina Brückner
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.
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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
I am pleased to be taking part in the upcoming 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. I’m very much looking forward to learning from my co-panelists and the other participants. Registration is available here.
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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.,
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,
Museum Security Network,
Leopold Museum,
Crozier Fine Arts Inc.,
Art Law Report,
Mari-Claudia Jiménez,
Sharon Flescher,
Michael Danti,
Holly Keris
Although this week's Restitution and Repatriation conference at DePaul was washed out by Hurricane Sandy, another terrific event is on the horizon next week. "Art Law Day" at New York University, hosted by the Appraisers Association of America, will be held on November 9, 2012 at NYU's Kimmel Center. The condensed schedule from the event's website is below. Wishing everyone in New York continued safety, we hope to see you there.
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Topics:
Yuri Yanchyshyn,
AAA,
John Cahill,
Donn Zaretzky,
Inc.,
Art Law Day,
Jane C. H. Jacob,
ARIS,
Ralph Lerner,
Appraisal,
Events,
Elizabeth von Habsburg,
Jacob Fine Art,
Appraisers Association of America,
Restitution and Repatriation,
IFAR,
Kimmel Center,
connoisseurship,
Winston Art Group,
Gloria Velandia,
Sharon Flescher,
Judith Bresler
