As the ball teeters above Times Square, and the Glühwein begins to mull on the Art Law Report stove (don’t forget the cinnamon!), a gimmicky but apropos act of reflection is to look back at the biggest stories of 2014, both in art law generally and for yours truly and Sullivan & Worcester LLP. In highly subjective, unverifiable, and immediately criticizeable order, here they are. Thanks as always for reading, and best wishes for in interesting, prosperous New Year. If you agree, disagree, or otherwise, please continue to stay in touch and carry the conversation forward.
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Topics: Comedy Central, Deaccession, Schwabinger Kunstfund, Charitable Foundations, National Gallery of Art, Knoedler, Cornelius Gurlitt, Blogs, authentication, authenticity, parody, William Corcoran, Moral Rights, Above the Law, Germany, George Washington University, Glühwein, Nazi-looted art, Gurlitt Collection, Norton Simon, Graffiti Art, Superior Court, Cy Pres, Washington DC, VARA, Detroit Institute of Arts, Bankruptcy, Corcoran College of Art + Design, Dumb Starbucks, Preemption, Asher Edelman, DIA, Restitution, Marei Von Saher, Artmentum GmbH, Bavaria, Sullivan & Worcester LLP, World War II, Copyright, Times Square, Art Fairs, Kunstmuseum Bern, Corcoran Gallery, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Museums, Raubkunst, Detroit Bankruptcy, Fair Use, Münchner Kunstfund, Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity, Graffiti, Civil Forfeiture, Art Law Report
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.
Sullivan & Worcester LLP's Art and Museum Law Group has published an important new client advisory about Massachusetts's fine arts consignment statute, G.L. c. 104A. With the recent decision in Plumb v. Casey et al. by the Supreme Judicial Court, it is more important than ever to understand what the law requires and provides. Certainly if a transaction has any connection to Massachusetts (whether through buyer, seller, agent, estate executor, etc.), or even if it is just in a state with a consignment statute whose courts may look to this opinion for guidance, we hope our readers will find the advisory helpful.
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Topics: Legislation, consignment, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Supreme Judicial Court, SJC, Bankruptcy Court, Sullivan & Worcester LLP, consignor, G.L. c. 104A § 2, Art and Museum Law Group, G.L. c. 104A § 1, U.C.C.-1 statement, U.C.C. Secretary of State, Plumb v. Casey, Chapter 7, Uniform Commercial Code
I took part in last week’s panel discussion at the Sotheby’s Institute entitled “Art Fairs: An Irresistible Force In The Art World?” Moderated by Judith Prowda, the panel was comprised of Edward Winkleman, Elizabeth Dee, Richard Lehun, and me. We reviewed the financial, practical, ethical, and legal effects that the expansion of art fairs has had on the trade.
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Topics: Eileen Kinsella, Sotheby’s Institute of Art, Entertainment Arts & Sports Law Section, Kristina Nazarevskaia, Richard Lehun, Elizabeth Dee, Sullivan & Worcester LLP, Stropheus Art Law, Events, Edward Winkleman, Art Fairs, Indpendent, New York State Bar Association, Judith B. Prowda, galleryIntell, Nicholas M. O'Donnell, ArtNet
A reminder that I’ll be taking part in an event sponsored by the Entertainment Arts & Sports Law Section of the New York State Bar Association on Tuesday, May 27, 2014, to be held at the Sotheby’s Institute of Art at 570 Lexington Avenue starting at 6:30 p.m. The event description is copied below, and registration is available here. I hope to see you there!
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Topics: Sotheby’s Institute of Art, Entertainment Arts & Sports Law Section, Richard Lehun, Elizabeth Dee, Sullivan & Worcester LLP, Stropheus Art Law, Events, Selling Contemporary Art: How to Navigate the Evol, Edward Winkleman, Art Fairs, Indpendent, New York State Bar Association, Judith B. Prowda, Nicholas M. O'Donnell, Visual Arts and the Law: A Handbook for Profession
I’m excited to report that I’ll be taking part in an event sponsored by the Entertainment Arts & Sports Law Section of the New York State Bar Association on Tuesday, May 27, 2014, to be held at the Sotheby’s Institute of Art at 570 Lexington Avenue starting at 6:30 p.m. The event description is copied below, and registration is available here. I hope to see you there!
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Topics: Sotheby’s Institute of Art, Entertainment Arts & Sports Law Section, Richard Lehun, Elizabeth Dee, Sullivan & Worcester LLP, Stropheus Art Law, Events, Selling Contemporary Art: How to Navigate the Evol, Edward Winkleman, Art Fairs, Indpendent, New York State Bar Association, Judith B. Prowda, Nicholas M. O'Donnell, Visual Arts and the Law: A Handbook for Profession
In one of the first affirmative steps taken by Cornelius Gurlitt since the revelation of the seizure of a large number of artworks with possible Nazi-seizure connections, Gurlitt has filed a criminal complaint concerning his allegations of violations of his privacy rights. According to Gurlitt’s attorney, “The surrender of investigative information to the press, and with it the severe damage to his personal rights is not tolerable in any way for Mr. Gurlitt. . . . This is a blatant violation of official secrecy.” Another of his lawyers went on to express concern for trust in the process in which details were being given to the media. In particular, Gurlitt’s team were most upset about photographs in the Focus piece that broke the story of Gurlitt’s apartment.
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Topics: Stuttgart, Das Alte Schauspielhaus, Cologne, Irina Alter, veschollene Kunst, Schwabinger Kunstfund, Wiedergutmachung, Annette Weber, Hildebrand Gurlitt, Cornelius Gurlitt, Corinna Budras, S. Lane Faison, Universität Heidelberg, Augsburg, Institute for Jewish Studies Heidelberg, Aryanization, Anat Feinberg, Willi Korte, Schwabinger Kunstfund. Kunstfund München, Monuments Man, Gurlitt Task Force, Germany, Fall Gurlitt, Köln, Nazi-looted art, Henry Keazor, Gurlitt Collection, Appropriated Art the Gurlitt Case, Kurpfälzisches Museum Heidelberg, Hochschule für Judische Studien Heidelberg, Eberhard Karls-Universität Tübingen, Emily Löffler, CSU, Williams College, Judische Allgemeine, Hildebrand Gurlit, Entartete Kunst, Universität Zürich, Arisierung, Lehrstuhl für Römisches Recht und Privatrecht, Nürnberger Institut, Rückgabe, Rhein-Neckar Morgenweb, Beutekunst, 'Stürmer-Bibliothek', Magdeburg, Daniel Krochmalnik, Ersessene Kunst, Katja Terlau, Art Loss Recovery Unit, Jim Tobias, Rhein-Neckar Zeitung, Fritz Backhaus, Gurlitt, Bavaria, Johannes Heil, Wien, Sullivan & Worcester LLP, Lucas Elmenhorst, Kunsthistorisches Institut, Nürnberg, Jüdisches Museum Frankfurt, Looted Art, „Sturmer-Library“, degenerate art, Boston, Seminar für Neuere Geschichte, Wolfgang Ernst, www.lostart.de, Nazi art, Raubkunst, Nicholas M. O'Donnell, Frieder Hepp, Verjährung, Vienna, Münchner Kunstfund, New York, FAZ Frankfurt, Felicitas Heiman-Jellinek
I’ve just returned from my presentation in Heidelberg at the Hochschule für Jüdische Studien in Heidelberg at the conference Ersessene Kunst—Der Fall Gurlitt; Appropriated Art—The Gurlitt Case. The presentations were, without exception, outstanding. They ranged from rarely-told case stories, to sharp insights of some of the overarching principles that guide the the Gurlitt case and similar events. As the discussions made clear, this case will not be easily resolved. That in turn makes recent reports that Cornelius Gurlitt has indicated a willingess to discuss the art's return all the more significant.
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Topics: Maria Altmann, Leopold Reidemester, Ministerin für Justiz und Kultur, Stuttgart, Das Alte Schauspielhaus, Cologne, Irina Alter, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer, veschollene Kunst, Focus, Schwabinger Kunstfund, Aschbach Castle, Mussolini, Wiedergutmachung, Annette Weber, Monte Cassino, Cornelius Gurlitt, Corinna Budras, S. Lane Faison, Breslau, Universität Heidelberg, Augsburg, Aryanization, Anat Feinberg, Willi Korte, Schwabinger Kunstfund. Kunstfund München, Monuments Man, Jud Süss, Wrocław, Dresden, Gurlitt Task Force, Germany, Silesia, Fall Gurlitt, Wallraf-Richartz Museum, Köln, Nazi-looted art, Henry Keazor, Gurlitt Collection, Appropriated Art the Gurlitt Case, Schloss Aschbach, Die Welt, Kurpfälzische Museum Heidelberg, Hochschule für Judische Studien Heidelberg, Karl Haberstock, Eberhard Karls-Universität Tübingen, Emily Löffler, CSU, Williams College, Hildebrand Gurlit, Entartete Kunst, Universität Zürich, Arisierung, Lehrstuhl für Römisches Recht und Privatrecht, Württemberg, Schlesien, Nürnberger Institut, Hamburg, Otto Förster, Rückgabe, Beutekunst, 'Stürmer-Bibliothek', Magdeburg, Portrait of Amalie Zuckerkandl, Ersessene Kunst, Katja Terlau, Art Loss Recovery Unit, Jim Tobias, Hermitage, Gurlitt, Bavaria, Johannes Heil, Wien, Sullivan & Worcester LLP, Lucas Elmenhorst, Events, Kunsthistorisches Institut, Nürnberg, Jüdisches Museum Frankfurt, Looted Art, „Sturmer-Library“, degenerate art, Seminar für Neuere Geschichte, Wolfgang Ernst, Justizminister, Göring, www.lostart.de, Nazi art, Raubkunst, Nicholas M. O'Donnell, Frieder Hepp, Verjährung, Vienna, Claudius Krausharr, Münchner Kunstfund, Zwickau, Kajetan Mühlmann, New York, Werner Haftmann, FAZ Frankfurt, Felicitas Heiman-Jellinek
The Institute for Jewish Studies in Heidelberg (the Hochschule für Judische Studien Heidelberg) will host a one-day conference on January 26, 2014 entitled “Appropriated Art—The Gurlitt Case” (Ersessene Kunst—Der Fall Gurlitt). Leading academics, journalists, and researchers will put the Gurlitt find into a historical and legal perspective. As listed below, the depth of topics that will be presented is outstanding. Last, and very much least, I will present on the efficacy, challenges, and policy considerations in U.S. art restitution litigation.
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Topics: Stuttgart, Das Alte Schauspielhaus, Cologne, Irina Alter, Schwabinger Kunstfund, Wiedergutmachung, Annette Weber, Hildebrand Gurlitt, Cornelius Gurlitt, Corinna Budras, Universität Heidelberg, Institute for Jewish Studies Heidelberg, Aryanization, Anat Feinberg, Fall Gurlitt, Köln, Nazi-looted art, Henry Keazor, Gurlitt Collection, Appropriated Art the Gurlitt Case, Kurpfälzische Museum Heidelberg, Hochschule für Judische Studien Heidelberg, Eberhard Karls-Universität Tübingen, Emily Löffler, Entartete Kunst, Universität Zürich, Arisierung, Lehrstuhl für Römisches Recht und Privatrecht, Nürnberger Institut, Rückgabe, Beutekunst, 'Stürmer-Bibliothek', Daniel Krochmalnik, Ersessene Kunst, Katja Terlau, Jim Tobias, Fritz Backhaus, Johannes Heil, Wien, Sullivan & Worcester LLP, Events, Kunsthistorisches Institut, Nürnberg, Jüdisches Museum Frankfurt, Looted Art, „Sturmer-Library“, degenerate art, Boston, Seminar für Neuere Geschichte, Wolfgang Ernst, Raubkunst, Nicholas M. O'Donnell, Frieder Hepp, Vienna, Münchner Kunstfund, New York, FAZ Frankfurt, Felicitas Heiman-Jellinek
I’ll be at the International Bar Association Conference all week here in Boston, starting tonight. Among others, I’m looking forward to the sessions below (the first featuring my partner at Sullivan & Worcester, Laura Steinberg, the trademark panel featuring my partner at Sullivan & Worcester Kim Herman, and others given by the Art, Cultural Institutions and Heritage Law Committee). If you follow the Art Law Report and you’ll be in attendance, welcome to Boston, and drop a line or a Tweet.
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Topics: Laura Steinberg, Annual Conference, Kim Herman, Sullivan & Worcester LLP, Events, Copyright, Boston, IBA, International Bar Association
