Art Law Blog : New York Art Law Lawyer & Attorney : Fox Rothschild Law Firm : Theft, Intellectual Property, Institutional Negotiation : Manhattan, New York City

An 18th Century painting by Scottish Romantic painter Sir Henry Raeburn is embroiled in litigation.  The work allegedly belongs to Joanne King Herring, the character played by Julia Robert's in the movie Charlie Wilson's War, who reported it missing with the ALR, but last year a New York man attempted to sell the painting at Sotheby's.  Although the auction house apparently intended to release the painting to King, it did not do so because the man would not cede ownership even though he could not produce any evidence of ownership.  Herring is now suing to recover the work.

More about the dispute is covered here:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/hotstories/6877348.html

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

In a February 4, 2010 article, the New York Times reported that the record sale of the Giacometti life-size bronze figure “L’homme qui marche I” (The Striding Man I) at Sotheby's in London is a recent example of the suddenly booming art market.  Yet, as the Times states:

"Money is ready to flow as never before. But the ups and downs of the bidding pattern, not clearly connected with the intrinsic merit of the works being offered, indicate that the market remains haphazard, making reasonably accurate predictions virtually impossible. This is not going to make life easier for auction house specialists or the buyers they hope to attract. "

The article can be found here:

www.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/arts/05iht-melik5.html

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Despite recent worldwide economic turmoil, the art market reached a new high last week when  a life-size bronze sculpture depicting the figure of a man by Alberto Giacometti was sold at auction for the world record price of $104.3 million at Sotheby's in London.

The anonymous bidder apparently place the bid over the telephone and paid nearly three times the expected price.

More about the record sale can be found here:

money.cnn.com/2010/02/04/news/economy/Sothebys_Giacometti_record_auction/

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

When you accidentally back into a lamp at Pottery Barn, your conscience -- or the store -- may make you pay for the damage.  What happens if you back into an $80 million Picasso at the Met?  Apparently they fix it for you. 

A January 25, 2010 article in USA Today describes how an art student tripped into a rare $80 million Picasso entitled The Actor and created a six inch tear.  The article states that "[t]he museum said the tear did not occur "in a focal point of the composition" and could be repaired in time for an April display of 250 works of art by the painter at the Met."

That art student may be thankful that the Pottery Barn rule does not apply at the Met. 

The article can be read in its entirety here:

content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2010/01/mets-rare-picasso-damaged-when-clumsy-art-student-stumbles-into-painting/1

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

An article in the January 29, 2010 edition of the Wall Street Journal details the exploits in the art world of Asher Edelman, the financier who helped inspire Micheal Douglas' character in Wall Street. 

The article, which is an excellent read, can be found here

:online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704094304575029583894223908.html

One of the interesting aspects of the article is the following protion, which helps show that the art finance business continues to flourish, even in troubled economic times:

"Mr. Edelman is now joining a rare segment of the art industry—art financing—that hasn't slowed down in the recession. Art Capital Group expects to dole out as much as $300 million worth of new art-backed loans this year, up from $120 million last year and $60 million five years ago. Citi Private Bank said its top clients also increased their borrowing against their collections to as much as $100 million last year, up from a typical maximum loan of $20 million a decade earlier. "

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link