Copyright Law

"A federal lawsuit filed in Dallas on Friday has all the makings of a Vanity Fair feature story."

Posted on March 14, 2011
"But far more notable is what's at stake: a signature collection of art (consisting of more than 1,400 works, including some by Monet, Rodin, van Gogh and Cézanne) at the Dallas Museum of Art ...."

What makes an artist a professional?

Posted on March 14, 2011
Daniel Grant considers the question at the Huffington Post.

"Whereas the first legal kerfuffle with Vuitton ended in mid-2008 with Plesner agreeing to stop selling t-shirts bearing the handbag image . . ."

Posted on March 14, 2011
". . . this time Plesner's art is not merchandise to be sold but a work of fine art."Louis Vuitton is suing Dutch artist Nadia Plesner again.

"And one day I saw it on the wall and thought, ?Hey, I could use money? and so I decided to sell it."

Posted on March 11, 2011
"And now it?s a big mess."The NYT's Randy Kennedy reports that a collector has sued Gagosian Gallery, alleging that they sold him a Mark Tansey painting that was already partially owned by the Met.

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"Despite"?

Posted on March 11, 2011
"He noted ... that major gifts dropped last year despite the fact that there was no estate tax in place in 2010."

Linkage

Posted on March 11, 2011
"A warning to collectors about the notion of authenticity.""Sotheby?s has provided a guarantee for the work but we won?t know for some time whether they finally broke their self-imposed ban on providing the guarantees themselves.""Marina did not sign anything stating he could make installations or photographic or video editions of this work...

"All this is possible because the art market brings two contradictory elements together . . ."

Posted on March 11, 2011
" . . . on the one hand, huge sums of money; on the other, objects that have no intrinsic, easy to determine monetary value."

That's the thing about legal rows

Posted on March 10, 2011
They tend to escalate.The Art Newspaper's Charlotte Burns has the latest developments in the Ansel Adams litigation.

The Next Fair Use Case

Posted on March 09, 2011
Involves Mr. Brainwash (of Exit Through the Gift Shop fame) and Run DMC. The Art Newspaper has the story.

FYI, it will soon be a felony to photograph farms in Florida

Posted on March 09, 2011
Eugene Volokh has the details.

"This provides us with a great cushion, so that that we can continue the quality and variety of art projects in the park."

Posted on March 08, 2011
I meant to flag this one before the weekend, but Carol Vogel's latest Inside Art column included a little report that the non-profit Madison Square Park Conservancy had sold two pieces given to it by Sol LeWitt in 2005. The sales raised $1.4 million...

"Engel said it wasn't worth the time and trouble of trying the case."

Posted on March 04, 2011
The LAT's Mike Boehm reports that Clint Arthur's pointless lawsuit against Louis Vuitton has settled, "for a $12,000 refund, plus interest ? what Louis Vuitton had offered before he sued."So to recap:In the summer of 2008, Arthur sued LV for violating the California print disclosure statute in connection with the sale of some works by Takashi Murakami at his exhibition at L...

"Peters' lawyer argued Waitt's complaint amounts to buyer's remorse."

Posted on March 03, 2011
"But the judge ruled Waitt's claims were enough to reject Peters' motion to dismiss the case."

Linkage (art crimes edition)

Posted on March 02, 2011
Art fund scam in France."The trucker who damaged a controversial display at the Loveland Museum/Gallery must pay $2,991 in restitution."Trial begins in civil case brought by artist arrested for selling without a license.

Creeping back

Posted on March 02, 2011
In The Art Newspaper, Georgina Adam and Charlotte Burns report that auction house guarantees, "which disappeared during the downturn," are making a comeback, and that, "among art dealers, there are few more divisive subjects."I reviewed the relevant legal rules a while back here.

Linkage

Posted on March 01, 2011
Conviction in Giacometti forgery ring.Banksy stolen in LA."A funny thing happened on the way to a de-accessioning."

Artelligence Conference

Posted on March 01, 2011
For those interested in monitoring the art market, The Art Market Monitor has put together a one-day conference on "understanding art as an asset," on April 13, that you won't want to miss. Details here.

Kuspit on the Iowa Pollock

Posted on February 28, 2011
Donald Kuspit thinks "the university and state had the chance to do some human good with Mural and muffed the chance":"Raecker?s bill is dead, ... but the issue Raecker?s bill raises remains alive. It can be put another way: Mural may be a 'national asset,' as Dove said, but how much of an educational asset is it? It gives the university, its art history department, and its museum a great deal of prestige ...

"Deaccessioning is both legal and ethical ... and should be embraced as a tool for museum survival."

Posted on February 26, 2011
Via The Deaccessioning Blog, a student Note entitled Let Them Sell Art: Why a Broader Deaccession Policy Today Could Save Museums Tomorrow: "Instead of exiling museums for deaccessioning for financial reasons and forcing other museums to cancel loans to and exhibits with the exiled museum, the AAMD and AAM should work with their members to form and enforce a deaccessioning policy that will protect the public trust by helping museums stay open...

"The sales are designed to secure the fiscal health of the institution (and certainly not earmarked for future acquisitions)"

Posted on February 24, 2011
Artnet's Walter Robinson reports that a German museum has been selling off some work, including a $13 million Richter, and does not plan to use the proceeds to buy more art.What? That can't be right. Don't they know it's repulsive to sell art and not use the proceeds to buy more art? Do the Deaccession Police not have an office in Germany?Look, this is a reminder that when people run around ranting and raving about the evils of deaccessioning, all they're really doing is enforcing a set of guidelines a private organization has adopted, for their own institutional reasons, and in their own self-interest...

Linkage

Posted on February 24, 2011
Artist sues Kevin Costner.Collector sues Gerald Peters Gallery.The importance of model release forms.

Not his day

Posted on February 24, 2011
ARCA's Catherine Schofield Sezgin notes a story that was making the rounds yesterday of "a security guard from Corsica's Fine Arts Museum in the Palais Fesch [who] stole four paintings, submitted his ransom demand for housing through a local television station, and when he led police to his car, discovered that the window had been smashed and that the four paintings had been stolen from his car...

Tell me again about the "public trust" (a continuing series)

Posted on February 24, 2011
Because who needs another Renoir, right?How come no one seems to worry about nervous, fleeing donors when a museum ships a work like this off to Maastricht for sale at $15 million?Why wouldn't somebody say, Why should I give this to you? What guarantee do I have that you're not going to sell this tomorrow?How is it that only some sales have a chilling effect on future donations?It's almost as if the whole thing is an exercise in smoke and mirrors.

In your face, Scotland!

Posted on February 23, 2011
The LA Times has a little piece about the Getty's "new pride and joy," J.M.W. Turner's 1839 "Modern Rome -- Campo Vaccino." They're planning a big shindig in March "to celebrate the arrival and installation."But here's a question: what about the people of Scotland?Remember, "the painting long had resided on loan in the National Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh...

"My advice to art lovers? Do your due diligence before buying"

Posted on February 22, 2011
Good counsel from the Art Loss Register's Chris Marinello in the Financial Times.

"The issue has become so cumbersomely emotional that reaching consensus is unlikely, the legislator pushing for the sale said today."

Posted on February 21, 2011
The state legislator who proposed selling the University of Iowa Pollock (and using the money for more scholarships) has dropped the idea.

No Standing

Posted on February 17, 2011
Citing "important new evidence," opponents of the Barnes move have filed a petition to reopen the case. What's the new evidence? Statements made in "a recent documentary movie entitled The Art of the Steal." I kid you not.Statements made by the then-Attorney General in the documentary show that he "forfeited his neutrality" and was "an active participant," a "co-conspirator" in the move...

7th Circuit Wildflower Decision

Posted on February 16, 2011
The Seventh Circuit has issued its decision in the Chapman Kelley Wildflowers case. You can read it here. I won't have time to get to it until later, but in the meantime here is Sergio Muñoz Sarmiento, who says it's "not a good day for artists? rights...

LaChapelle v. Rihanna

Posted on February 16, 2011
Photographer David LaChapelle is suing pop star Rihanna, claiming the video for her latest video infringes his work. The NYT's Randy Kennedy has a report here. The Daily Mail runs some side-by-side comparisons, and it seems it's another case of idea vs...

Court of Appeals Affirms Wildenstein Dismissal

Posted on February 15, 2011
The New York Court of Appeals has unanimously affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit against Guy Wildenstein arising out of the purchase of a Gauguin painting. The decision is here.I summarized the trial court ruling here:"The plaintiff was informed by an Amir Cohen that the painting was available and, interested in buying, 'requested Cohen to procure an appraisal...

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