The question of how much diligence buyers must demonstrate may be considered in a new authenticity case brought recently in the Miami-Dade County Circuit Court against a Miami gallery for selling $6 million in fake Andy...more
Navigating the tax landscape for art dealers, investors, and collectors can be a complex endeavor, but proper classification is key to maximizing tax savings and avoiding pitfalls....more
I was proud to advise the Allentown Art Museum, which announced today that it has reached an agreement with the heirs of Henry and Hertha Bromberg concerning Portrait of George, Duke of Saxony by Lucas Cranach the Elder and...more
I attended today’s press conference at District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Jr.’s office in Manhattan at which a drawing by Egon Schiele, Seated Nude Woman, Front View, was transferred to the heirs of Fritz Grünbaum. I represent...more
Inherited art can be sentimental, beautiful, and valuable, but it can sometimes feel overwhelming. Depending on your personal situation, you have several options: you can keep and preserve the artwork, donate it to charity,...more
I was honored to be among the speakers this week at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum on March 5, 2024. Convened by the World Jewish Restitution Organization and the U.S. State Department, the event announced the...more
Many taxpayers have art collections. However, the art collections of some high-net-worth individuals, family offices, and business taxpayers may draw the unwanted eye of the IRS. With the increased focus on auditing...more
If a fire or flood destroys a high-net-worth client’s fine art collection, an insurer who pays out a claim related to the loss has an incentive to pursue subrogation. This article explores some of the issues an insurer should...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled on January 9, 2024 that the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection Foundation in Madrid is the owner of Rue Saint–Honoré, après-midi, effect de pluie (1892) by Camille Pissarro, a...more
For too many patients, medicine now revolves around two things: pills and procedures. But since humanity’s earliest times, those treating the sick and injured often have turned to more human sources for help in healing: art,...more
“Yes” to Art, “No” to Tax- Private patronage of the arts. For centuries, artists, museums, and galleries have depended, in no small part, upon the largesse of wealthy families. Today, as in the past, many of these...more
In 2018, Steven Thaler filed an application to register a copyright for a computer-generated image created autonomously by a computer algorithm, the “Creativity Machine”. (We previously wrote about Mr. Thaler’s unsuccessful...more
After a two-year hiatus, the Responsible Art Market Initiative is planning a return to its in-person annual conference at the end of this month in Geneva. For anyone who has attended RAM events or used its catalogue of...more
An important decision by the Second Circuit in The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. v. Goldsmith, Case No. 19-2420-cv (2d Cir. Mar. 26, 2021), has, in important respects, upended how the defense of fair use is...more
An art collection is a special asset to account for in an estate plan - It goes without saying that your art collection, including paintings, sculptures and other pieces of art, can represent a significant portion of your...more
In connection with the late-2020 amendment to the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) to include “dealers in antiquities” as a result of its inclusion in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the Treasury Department’s Financial...more
The Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (the “AMLA”), which became law January 2, 2021 with Congress’ override of then President Trump’s veto of the Defense Appropriations Act of 2021 included provisions bringing dealers in...more
Join us for a discussion of estate and philanthropic planning for art and other valuable collections. Topics to be covered include: - Collection ownership and management to protect the value of the collection (document,...more
Robin Pogrebin at the New York Times has written an excellent piece on the news that the Brooklyn Museum intends to sell several works from its collection to raise money. The museum explicitly relies on the pandemic-inspired...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit yesterday affirmed the 2019 judgment that allowed the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection Museum in Madrid to retain Camille Pissarro’s Rue St. Honoré, après-midi, effet de pluie (Rue...more
A recent report by the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (headlined by Chairman Senator Rob Portman, Republican of Ohio, and Ranking Member Tom Carper, Democrat of Delaware) has drawn widespread attention...more
Since online auctioneer Paddle 8 filed for bankruptcy protection in March, creditors of the company have begun filing their notices of claim in the bankruptcy case. One thing on which the creditors all seem to agree is that...more
Individuals, trusts and companies buying or selling art via UK galleries and auction houses will now be subject to the same customer due diligence checks as those opening bank accounts in the UK. What has changed? The...more
Art backed loans are growing in popularity as art collectors seek to unlock the value of their collections. For investors who desire to diversify their debt portfolios into this expanding market but lack the expertise in fine...more
Debate has peaked in the last year or so about the treatment and possible restitution of so-called colonial artifacts in Western (i.e., European and North American) museums. The conversation is important for many reasons, but...more