Copyright Law

John Richardson on Picasso's Electrician

Posted on December 10, 2010
At VanityFair.com:"Picasso was exceedingly generous with his work, but he never gave away anything from earlier periods, always from whatever he was working on at the time and available in the studio. Also, when he gave someone a drawing or a print, he always signed and also inscribed it...

It's really not so slippery

Posted on December 08, 2010
One further thought prompted by the story earlier this week about deaccessioning at the Philadelphia History Museum. As I mentioned, one museum director is quoted as making the usual slippery slope argument against deaccessioning: "if we go down this road, we end up paying our gas, electric and water bills ? classic operations costs ? with deaccessioning proceeds...

Signs

Posted on December 08, 2010
Another case of art vs. signs that are not art. A previous example here.

"We?re a history museum, not an art museum. It?s a picture of a fish."

Posted on December 07, 2010
The New York Times had another front page story on deaccessioning today -- this time involving the Philadelphia History Museum, which has "quietly" sold more than 2,000 objects "over the last several years," to help raise money for a big renovation of its 1826 building...

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"James Biear preyed upon an elderly man and robbed him of artwork it took him a lifetime to collect."

Posted on December 07, 2010
There was a conviction in the case of the chauffeur charged with stealing from his employer, a grandson of Joseph Pulitzer. The U.S. Attorney's press release is here. News coverage here and here.

Court Orders Seven Sculptures Returned to Calder Estate

Posted on December 07, 2010
"The works, which include a variety of mobiles and stabiles made between 1941 and 1970, are worth about $6.25 million, according to Alexander S. C. Rower, a grandson of the artist and president of the Calder Foundation."

"Picasso kept copious notes and diaries of his life and yet nowhere is M Le Guennec mentioned as a friend."

Posted on December 07, 2010
"And yet he gives him not one, not two, but 271 works of art. Does this sound likely? We have to wait for the police to finish their inquiry, but what can I say: I think not."More on the collection of 271 works a retired electrician claims were given to him by Picasso.

Call for Applications

Posted on December 06, 2010
The Association for Research into Crimes against Art (ARCA) is now accepting applications for its MA Program in the Study of Art Crime and Cultural Heritage Protection. Applications are due Jan. 3, so get on it. For more details, see here.

Minor Appeal

Posted on December 06, 2010
Halsey Minor is appealing the summary judgment ruling in favor of Sotheby's in their breach of contract action against him. You can read the appellate brief here. I discussed the lower court ruling here. Further background here and here.

"There's an absolute privilege made for statements made in discharge of an official duty. It's pretty clear."

Posted on December 06, 2010
"A judge has thrown out a defamation lawsuit filed by two Pebble Beach men whom deputies accused of faking a multimillion-dollar art heist last year."The county's lawyer says he will next go after them for attorney's fees.For background, see here and here.

"The saga of Fisk University's art collection goes on."

Posted on December 05, 2010
Fisk is appealing the latest ruling in the litigation concerning the Stieglitz Collection. Jennifer Brooks has the story in the Nashville Tennessean. The New York Times is here. (As an aside, the Times story states, as a fact, almost in passing, that the Collection was "given to [Fisk] as a public trust by the artist Georgia O?Keeffe...

And We're Back

Posted on December 05, 2010
Lots of art law happened while I was away, including the theft of 28 works (including a Picasso) from a parked truck outside a Madrid warehouse.Good analysis from Noah Charney here (including that "the necessary a priori knowledge required of this crime suggests that it was particularly well-organized")...

PSA

Posted on December 01, 2010
I'm taking my talents to South Beach this afternoon (I can't believe I actually got to use that line on the blog!), where I will be part of this panel tomorrow, so blogging will be light (or non-existent) through the weekend. Hopefully, British museums won't sell off thousands of works while I'm gone...

"Most of the people in the art world, and the museum world, regard the de-accessioning of possessions from museums and galleries with horror."

Posted on December 01, 2010
"But it?s a horror that has no real base to it."British art critic Brian Sewell is not a member of the Deaccession Police.

Picasso's alarm installer

Posted on December 01, 2010
Another really interesting story from over the weekend: a 71-year old retired electrician seems to have ended up with nearly 300 works by Picasso. He claims they were a gift from the artist. The Picasso estate has filed a lawsuit in France, claiming the works were stolen...

"The basic principle of museums in exceptional circumstances liquidating their collections is a principle that we have embraced since 2007 ..."

Posted on November 29, 2010
". . . and the world hasn?t come to an end."Lots to catch up on after the holiday weekend -- most interesting, from my point of view, this article in The Art Newspaper. The lede is that "leading international museum directors" have "restated their opposition" to sales from public collections "when the proceeds are used for 'anything other than acquisitions or the direct care of the collection...

"The fate of the museum's permanent collection ... remains unclear."

Posted on November 24, 2010
The Wall Street Journal reports that the end is near for the Chelsea Art Museum.

"The ability of San Francisco?s Asian Art Museum to avoid bankruptcy may be decided this week"

Posted on November 24, 2010
The WSJ's "Bankruptcy Beat" has the details. The artwork appears to be safe:"San Francisco owns the ... collection of more than 17,000 pieces of art .... As a result, such assets would be exempted from a bankruptcy filing by the museum foundation. The museum foundation owns minor assets as well as $70 million in endowment money...

Yale and Peru reach tentative settlement

Posted on November 23, 2010
But not for the first time.

"It really is about ... helping artists and musicians who are contributing to society find health care at affordable rates."

Posted on November 22, 2010
Bloomberg Businessweek on an event at which artists could barter their work in exchange for medical care.These stories always leave out one important detail.

Esmerian Arrested

Posted on November 22, 2010
Ralph Esmerian, Chairman Emeritus of the American Folk Art Museum, charged with fraud.Background here.

Donor Friendly

Posted on November 22, 2010
More on how New York's version of UPMIFA is more donor-favorable than most other states':"In most enactments of UPMIFA, all existing donor-restricted endowments become subject to the new requirements enabling spending below [historic dollar value]. This is not the case under NYPMIFA...

"All of the works on view are unattributed and unsigned."

Posted on November 19, 2010
Interesting sounding show at MCA Denver: Orphan Paintings: Unauthenticated Art of the Russian Avant-Garde:"Orphan Paintings explores questions about the status of art. What is an authentic art experience? What precisely are we appreciating when we look at a work of art? Are we appreciating what is visible to us, or is it a range of invisible factors, such as the belief that it was made by a master artist or the opinion of experts about its authenticity? This collection of unauthenticated Russian avant-garde paintings asks: can an art experience be authentic even if the status of the work of art remains questionable? Are there other forms of authenticity aside from its attribution to an artist?"Thanks to a loyal Art Law Blog reader for the tip.

Small and ad hoc

Posted on November 19, 2010
The New York Board of Regents is establishing "a small ad hoc committee of leaders of museums" to help produce a set of deaccessioning regulations "compatible with the accepted ethical and legal standards of the national accrediting organizations."Those accepted ethical standards were summarized here by the NYT -- under "the code of ethics of the American Association of Museums, the proceeds should be 'used only for the acquisition, preservation, protection or care of collections,'" while the "code of the Association of Art Museum Directors is even stricter, specifying that funds should not be used 'for purposes other than acquisitions of works of art for the collection'" -- and, as I've said before, it seems to me the current Board of Regents regulations are already fully "compatible" with those standards...

In the public trust

Posted on November 18, 2010
In the midst of a post on the announcement of the opening date of the Crystal Bridges Museum, Lee Rosenbaum mentions that one of the works in its collection used to belong to the Corcoran:"The D.C. museum had included it in several special exhibitions (scroll down)---most recently in its 2004-2005 show of 'The Human Form in American Art'---before deeming it expendable...

"The proposal would essentially eliminate the charitable tax deduction."

Posted on November 18, 2010
"In its place, all donations made by federal taxpayers would qualify for a 15-percent tax credit. But instead of that credit going to the taxpayer, it would be given to the charity receiving the donation in the form of a matching grant from the Internal Revenue Service...

"After much fretting over the loss of three art collections to the dispersal effect of the art market last week . . ."

Posted on November 17, 2010
". . . Los Angeles is now celebrating the endowment-enhancing power of the self-same art market."

"A picture is emerging of one of the most bizarre cases of deception in art history."

Posted on November 17, 2010
The Guardian explains.

Gives new meaning to the phrase "photographic memory"

Posted on November 17, 2010
Artist and NYU professor Wafaa Bilal is having a camera surgically implanted in the back of his head for several months for an art project. Kate Taylor's NYT story is here. More from the WSJ's Erica Orden here. Jonathan Turley notes a legal issue that has arisen: "Does he need the consent of students in class who will be captured by his head camera? As a result of objections, Bilal has agreed to cover the camera with a black lens cap while on university property...

Linkage

Posted on November 17, 2010
Sculpture impounded.Duped dealer buys back fake.Another review of "Stealing the Mystic Lamb."

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