Shows
The Art Law PodcastThe Problem of SleepersSteve and Katie speak with Swiss art lawyer Anne Laure Bandle about the subject of her book “The Sale of Misattributed Artworks and Antiques at Auction” - the problem of “sleepers,” or misattributed and undervalued works of art sold at auction. We all dream of buying a painting at a yard sale that we later discover to be worth millions of dollars. On this podcast, we discuss the market incentives and structures that prevent discovery of sleepers. Notes for this episode: https://artlawpodcast.com/2025/04/24/the-problem-of-sleepers/ Follow the Art Law Podcast Instagra...2025-04-2454 min
The Art Law PodcastUpdates on Art, Free Speech, and Government CensorshipSteve and Katie welcome back Professor Amy Adler to discuss the First Amendment’s free speech protections as they apply to artistic expression in the context of several recent incidents. Specifically, they discuss the police seizure of certain Sally Mann photographs from the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth in the context of obscenity and child pornography laws, the removal of the For Freedoms billboard depicting the march on Selma in Montgomery, Alabama, and the lawsuit about the Nirvana “Nevermind” album cover depicting a naked baby. Notes for this episode: https://artlawpodcast.com/2025/03/25/updates-on-art-free-speech-and-government-censorship/ ...2025-03-251h 02
The Art Law PodcastThe Law of Stolen Art in GermanyKatie and Steve speak with renowned German art lawyer Dr. Katharina Garbers-von Boehm about the law of title in Germany as it applies to art, including the concepts of good and bad faith in considering ownership, the legal primacy of possession, and the doctrine of adverse possession that allows possessors of stolen property, like Nazi-looted art, to take good title after a certain number of years. They discuss differences under U.S. law, particularly with respect to stolen property, soft laws that encourage voluntary actions that the law may foreclose, and recent German law developments surrounding Nazi-looted art. 2025-02-2152 min
The Art Law PodcastWho Should Control the Benin BronzesKatie and Steve speak with their colleague Eden Burgess and guest Dr. Ndubuisi C. Ezeluomba, Curator of African Art at the Virginia Museum of Fine Art and an expert in Benin Bronzes, about the artistic history of Benin City in current day Nigeria, the fate of the Benin Bronzes that dispersed around the world after the British invasion and looting of Benin Kingdom in 1897, and how we should think about ownership and possession of these valuable objects today. Notes for this episode: https://artlawpodcast.com/2025/01/13/who-should-control-the-benin-bronzes/ Follow the Art Law Podcast...2025-01-131h 23
The Art Law PodcastThe Ins and Outs of Art FinanceSteve and Katie speak with former SCH colleague Rebecca Fine, now CEO of Athena Art Finance, about her career, how art finance is structured and diligenced, who art finance is for, and the risks that Athena and other lenders try to mitigate. Notes for this episode: https://artlawpodcast.com/2024/11/18/the-ins-and-outs-of-art-finance/ Follow the Art Law Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artlawpodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@artlawpodcast Katie and Steve discuss topics based on news and magazine articles and court filings and not based on orig...2024-11-181h 01
The Art Law PodcastEnforceability and Effectiveness of Art Market Resale RestrictionsKatie and Steve speak with preeminent art advisor Megan Fox Kelly about the proliferation of resale restrictions in art transactions, what problems they seek to address, who they purport to help, how effective they are, and the legal issues they raise. They discuss the overlapping cultural, social, and legal aspects of these contractual terms. Notes for this episode: https://artlawpodcast.com/2024/10/08/enforceability-and-effectiveness-of-art-market-resale-restrictions/ Follow the Art Law Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artlawpodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@artlawpodcast Katie and Steve discuss topics based on n...2024-10-0854 min
The Art Law PodcastFrance v. USA: Legal Remedies for Authentication DisputesSteve and Katie speak with two preeminent French art lawyers, Anne-Sophie Nardon and Olivier de Baecque, about disputes surrounding the authenticity of art and how French and US courts get involved in these disputes. Because many of the world’s greatest artists made their home in France, many of the experts on these artists and their work are in France, and French courts have long adjudicated disputes about the accuracy of opinions made by experts regarding authenticity. Notes for this episode: https://artlawpodcast.com/2024/09/09/france-v-usa-legal-remedies-for-authentication-disputes/ Follow the Art Law Podcast In...2024-09-0957 min
The Art Law PodcastFrance v. USA: Legal Remedies for Authentication DisputesSteve and Katie speak with two preeminent French art lawyers, Anne-Sophie Nardon and Olivier de Baecque, about disputes surrounding the authenticity of art and how French and US courts get involved in these disputes. Because many of the world’s greatest artists made their home in France, many of the experts on these artists and their work are in France, and French courts have long adjudicated disputes about the accuracy of opinions made by experts regarding authenticity. Notes for this episode: https://artlawpodcast.com/2024/09/09/france-v-usa-legal-remedies-for-authentication-disputes/ Follow the Art Law Podcast In...2024-09-0957 min
The Art Law PodcastSeason End Art Law RoundupSteve and Katie discuss several art law topics in this end-of-season episode. They talk about internal thefts at the British Museum, the ongoing Victorious Youth litigation between Italy and the Getty Trust, the Damien Hirst backdating scandals, the litigation between the Manhattan DA and the Art Institute of Chicago, and the recent litigation between the Donald Judd Foundation and Kim Kardashian. End-of-season message from Steve and Katie: Thank you to all of our listeners for your support, and we look forward to bringing you season 8 in September! Notes for this episode: https://artlawpodcast.c...2024-07-0943 min
The Art Law PodcastItaly’s Expansive Control Over Cultural HeritageSteve and Katie speak with Italian lawyer Giuseppe Calabi and art historian Sharon Hecker about Italy’s cultural patrimony laws granting state institutions control over the use of images of cultural property long in the public domain. They discuss the legal, ethical, and practical issues with such laws and their specific application to uses of the Vitruvian Man by Leonardo da Vinci located at the Gallerie dell'Accademia in Venice and the statue of David by Michelangelo located at the Gallerie dell'Accademia in Florence. Notes for this episode: https://artlawpodcast.com/2024/06/03/italys-expansive-control-over-cultural-heritage/ Follow the...2024-06-0357 min
The Art Law PodcastThe 25th Anniversary of the Washington Conference Principles and Where We are on Nazi-Looted ArtSteve and Katie talk with their colleague, Tom Kline, about the Nazi’s program of remaking European culture, the enormous theft and displacement of art that occurred as part of that program, and the efforts of the heirs of Jews displaced during World War II to reclaim art and cultural property. The discussion focuses on the Washington Principles, the updated best practices issued upon their 25th anniversary, and how claims for restitution have changed over this time. Notes for this episode: https://artlawpodcast.com/2024/05/13/the-25th-anniversary-of-the-washington-conference-principles-and-where-we-are-on-nazi-looted-art/ Follow the Art Law Podcast 2024-05-1352 min
The Art Law PodcastThe Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act Gets Some TeethKatie and Steve speak with colleague Eden Burgess about the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), its history, purpose, and requirements to repatriate cultural property and human remains to Native American tribes and Native Hawaiian Organizations, as well as new regulations that are leading major museums to remove or close exhibitions of Native American and Hawaiian objects while taking action to implement NAGPRA in consultation with tribes that have ownership claims. Notes for this episode: https://artlawpodcast.com/2024/04/02/the-native-american-graves-protection-and-repatriation-act-gets-some-teeth/ Follow the Art Law Podcast Instagram: https://www.ins...2024-04-0242 min
The Art Law PodcastThe Parthenon Marbles DisputeKatie and Steve take a deep dive into the history and current status of the Parthenon Marbles with Alexander Herman, director of the Institute of Art and Law in London and author of the recent book The Parthenon Marbles Dispute: Heritage, Law, Politics. Notes for this episode: https://artlawpodcast.com/2024/03/04/the-parthenon-marbles-dispute/ Follow the Art Law Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artlawpodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@artlawpodcast2024-03-041h 17
The Art Law PodcastArt Law Litigation Updates: Fraud, Fair Use, and Nazi LootingKatie and Steve discuss three recent litigation updates. They discuss the outcome of the trial in the case brought by Dmitry Rybolovlev against Sotheby’s for aiding in the alleged fraud of Yves Bouvier, the most recent Richard Prince fair use copyright infringement cases brought by two photographers, and the Ninth Circuit decision applying Spanish law to deny return of a Pissarro painting to the family of Lily Cassirer, whose property was looted by the Nazis and is currently located in a Spanish museum. Notes for this episode: http://artlawpodcast.com/2024/02/05/art-law-litigation-updates-fraud-fair-use-and-nazi-looting/ Fo...2024-02-0639 min
The Art Law Podcast2023 AI and Art Wrap UpSteve and Katie take a look at the many developments around generative AI and fine art, including debates and litigation on copyrightability and infringement as well as the policy concerns surrounding increased use of generative AI to create artworks. Notes for this episode: http://artlawpodcast.com/2024/01/09/2023-ai-and-art-wrap-up/ Follow the Art Law Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artlawpodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@artlawpodcast2024-01-091h 02
The Art Law PodcastNew Hurdles to Importing Art in the EUKatie and Steve talk with renowned art lawyer Pierre Valentin about the EU’s new and striking import regulations on cultural goods, including fine art and cultural property, that prohibit the import of applicable items not created in the EU into the EU if they cannot be shown to have been legally exported from their countries of origin. We discuss the impetus for these regulations, the problem with discerning ownership and export history of cultural property, and the key problems with the new regulation’s successful implementation and enforcement. Notes for this episode: http://artlawpodcast.com/2...2023-12-061h 01
The Art Law PodcastReturning "The Wounded Indian" Statue to MassachusettsSteve and Katie talk with their colleague Tom Kline about his client, the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association (MCMA), and its decades-long quest to reclaim the dramatic marble statue The Wounded Indian by Peter Stephenson, modeled after the Roman sculpture The Dying Gaul. MCMA was founded by Paul Revere in 1795 and was gifted the statue in 1893. After vacating its storied headquarters in 1958, MCMA was told the statute had been destroyed. Only in 2023 did it get the statue back. Notes for this episode: http://artlawpodcast.com/2023/11/07/returning-the-wounded-indian-statue-to-massachusetts/ Follow the Art Law Podcast ...2023-11-0744 min
The Art Law PodcastWhat Can Artificial Intelligence Offer Art Authentication?Steve and Katie speak with Dr. Carina Popovici, CEO and Founder of Art Recognition, an art and technology startup that uses AI systems to evaluation the authenticity of artworks. They discuss the problems with authentication in the traditional art market and the promise and limitations of AI in solving these problems along with some real-world examples. Notes for this episode: http://artlawpodcast.com/2023/09/06/ what-can-artificial-intelligence-offer-art-authentication/ Follow the Art Law Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artlawpodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@artlawpodcast2023-09-0653 min
The Art Law PodcastDo Market Players React to Court Decisions Impacting Art?Katie and Steve speak with WIPO economists Alexander Cuntz and Matthias Sahli about their recent article, Intermediary liability and trade in follow-on innovation, published in the Journal of Cultural Economics in February 2023. Their research looks at how intermediaries in the art market altered their behavior after the Second Circuit’s decision in Cariou v. Prince, which was seen as greatly expanding permissible fair use in appropriation art. THIS PODCAST WAS RECORDED BEFORE THE SUPREME COURT’S DECISION IN THE WARHOL CASE, WHICH PULLED BACK ON THE TRANSFORMATIVE USE ANALYSIS FOR COPYRIGHT FAIR USE. Notes for this epis...2023-07-051h 00
The Art Law PodcastSCOTUS Says Warhol Not So Fast: The Limitations of Transformative UseKatie and Steve talk to Philippa Loengard, copyright expert and Director of the Kernochan Center for Law, Media and the Arts at Columbia Law School, about the much-anticipated Supreme Court decision in Andy Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith, which resets and limits the applicability of “transformative” fair use as an exception to copyright infringement. Notes for this episode: http://artlawpodcast.com/2023/06/05/scotus-says-warhol-not-so-fast-the-limitations-of-transformative-use/ Follow the Art Law Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artlawpodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@artlawpodcast2023-06-0559 min
Financial Crime MattersStemming Financial Crime in Art and Antiquities, with Steve Schindler and Katie Wilson-MilneKieran talks with Steve Schindler and Katie Wilson-Milne, partners at New York litigation and art law boutique Schindler Cohen & Hochman LLP about the state of financial crime in the global antiquities and art world.
Charting some of the civil and criminal actions that have resulted in a recent wave of repatriations of artworks and antiquities from the world’s major museums, noted galleries and private collections, Steve and Katie also discuss the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s (FinCEN) recent extension of anti-money laundering and counter-terror finance reporting responsibilities to antiquities dealers.
In laying out some of the red flags associated with...2023-05-1826 min
The Art Law PodcastFashion, NFTs, and Artistic ExpressionKatie and Steve talk to attorney Emily Poler, founder of Poler Legal, about the recent lawsuit between the iconic French fashion house Hermès and an NFT creator, Mason Rothschild, over Rothschild’s “MetaBirkin” NFTs. Hermès claimed that Rothschild infringed Hermès’ trademark in the name “Birkin.” Hermès prevailed on this claim (and others) in a jury trial earlier this year. Katie, Steve, and Emily discuss the contours of this lawsuit and the reach of trademark law to police fashion brands, copyright’s limitations, and trademark law’s applicability to artistic expression, especially in the context of NFTs. 2023-04-0454 min
The Art Law PodcastThe Promise of NFTs for Artists and the Art MarketSteve and Katie speak with Amy Whitaker about her new book with Nora Burnett Abrams, The Story of NFTs: Artists, Technology and Democracy. Amy describes her vision for the promise of NFTs for artists and a more equitable art market and discusses the democratic incentives NFTs create in this world. They discuss NFTs in the context of the current moment of uncertainty around the future of cryptocurrency, the blockchain, and the value of NFTs in general and the potential problems and limitations of NFTs within the fine art ecosystem. The Story of NFTs: Artists, Technology, a...2023-03-011h 05
The Art Law PodcastThe Art Seizures of the Spanish Civil WarKatie and Steve talk to Spanish art lawyer and scholar, Patricia Fernández, about the history of thousands of artwork seizures during the Spanish Civil War and the Spanish government’s actions with respect to these artworks since then through today. Notes for this episode: http://artlawpodcast.com/2023/01/17/the-art-seizures-of-the-spanish-civil-war/ Follow the Art Law Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artlawpodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@artlawpodcast2023-01-1756 min
The Art Law PodcastThe 60+ Year Journey of a Stolen Pissarro Painting and Who Gets to Keep ItSteve and Katie speak with appellate litigator David Barrett about the story animating a recent Supreme Court case between the heirs of Lilly Cassirer, who fled Germany in 1939 after surrendering the painting Rue Saint-Honoré Après-midi, Effet de Pluie (Rue Saint-Honoré in the Afternoon, Effect of Rain) by Camille Pissarro to the Nazis, and the Spanish Museum known as the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection. They discuss the journey of the painting in and out of the United States over a 60-plus-year period before it found its way into the collection of a Spanish museum, the Cassirer family’s efforts to find and r...2022-12-131h 06
The Art Law PodcastSome Art Museum-Related UpdatesKatie and Steve discuss some recent art museum-related legal(ish) developments, including New York’s new legislation requiring labeling of Nazi-looted art, the AAMD’s long-awaited changes to its deaccessioning policy, and an unusual gift/sale of part of MoMA’s collection. Notes for this episode: http://artlawpodcast.com/2022/10/25/some-art-museum-related-updates/ Follow the Art Law Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artlawpodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@artlawpodcast2022-10-2538 min
The Art Law PodcastDirector of the Louvre Arrested and a Dive into French Criminal LawTo open Season 6, Katie and Steve discuss the shocking arrest of Jean-Luc Martinez, director of the Louvre in Paris from 2013 to 2021, related to his involvement in the alleged trafficking of antiquities for the Louvre Abu Dhabi with French criminal lawyer Sarah Arpagaus. They discuss cultural property crimes more broadly and take a detour into the world of French criminal law and its striking difference with the system here in the US. Notes for this episode: http://artlawpodcast.com/2022/09/06/director-of-the-louvre-arrested-and-a-dive-into-french-criminal-law/ Follow the Art Law Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ar...2022-09-0650 min
The Art Law PodcastRussian Sanctions and the Art MarketSteve and Katie speak to anti-money laundering and sanctions expert Paula Trommel of Corinth Consulting about Russian sanctions and their impact on the art market in the short and long term. Notes for this episode: http://artlawpodcast.com/2022/07/15/russian-sanctions-and-the-art-market/ Follow the Art Law Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artlawpodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@artlawpodcast2022-07-1553 min
The Art Law PodcastFractional Ownership of Art: Can Regular People Own a Piece of the High End Art Market?Katie and Steve speak with Evan Beard, currently Executive Vice President at Masterworks, about fractional ownership of art and new art securitization trends and initiatives, who the issuers and investors in this space are, and what they can achieve through these alternative investment structures. Notes for this episode: http://artlawpodcast.com/2022/06/09/fractional-ownership-of-art-can-regular-people-own-a-piece-of-the-high-end-art-market/ Follow the Art Law Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artlawpodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@artlawpodcast2022-06-091h 00
The Art Law PodcastSurprise! NYC Repeals Auction RegulationsSteve and Katie give a brief update on New York City’s recent repeal of its regulations governing auctioneers and auction practices. These regulations provided consumer protections by enforcing a measure of transparency into the auction process, such as requiring auctioneers to publicly disclose when they had a financial stake in an object being sold. Interestingly, major stakeholders appeared surprised by the repeal, which they had not requested and seemed indifferent about. Notes for this episode: http://artlawpodcast.com/2022/05/10/surprise-nyc-repeals-auction-regulations/ Follow the Art Law Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com...2022-05-1014 min
The Art Law PodcastAnti-Money Laundering Update: FinCEN's Surprising Conclusion and the Impact of Russian Sanctions on the US Art MarketSusan Mumford and Chris King, co-founders of ArtAML, return to the Podcast and talk with Steve about the recent release by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network ("FinCEN") of its “Study of the Facilitation of Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism through the Trade in Works of Art." To the surprise of Steve and his guests, FinCEN concluded that there is limited evidence of money laundering and little risk of terror financing through the sale of high value art. The discussion focuses on the findings of the study, and its implications, particularly when compared with the existing AML regulations co...2022-03-2832 min
The Art Law PodcastTurkey’s Quest for the Stargazer: Part 2With Katie on a parental leave, Steve speaks with Herrick Feinstein’s Victor Rocco about his firm’s representation of the Republic of Turkey in litigation brought by Turkey to possess a millennia-old Anatolian marble statue (the Stargazer) owned by Michael Steinhardt and sold by him through Christie’s. (We previously had counsel for Christie’s and Steinhardt on the podcast.) After a trial in the Southern District of New York, Turkey lost for the primary reason that they could not provide facts supporting their claim to ownership of the Stargazer, specifically that it was stolen from modern day Turkey af...2022-03-0356 min
The Art Law PodcastSkepticism and Optimism Around Art NFTs - RevisitedIn a re-release of last June's episode, Katie and Steve speak (again) with digital art and NFT enthusiast Jason Bailey about the sudden rise of NFTs in the art world, what they really are, why they have value, and who is interested in them and why. Notes for this episode: http://artlawpodcast.com/2022/01/10/skepticism-and-optimism-around-art-nfts-revisited/ Follow the Art Law Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artlawpodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@artlawpodcast2022-01-101h 03
The Art Law PodcastTurkey’s Quest for the StargazerKatie and Steve speak with veteran cultural property and art lawyer, Tom Kline, about his representation of Christie’s and Michael Steinhardt in litigation brought by Turkey to possess a millennia-old Anatolian marble statue (the Stargazer) owned by Steinhardt and sold by him through Christie’s. After a trial in the Southern District of New York, Turkey lost for the primary reason that they could not provide facts supporting their claim to ownership of the Stargazer, specifically that it was stolen from modern day Turkey after 1906. Notes for this episode: http://artlawpodcast.com/2021/12/02/turkeys-quest-for-the-stargazer/ 2021-12-0251 min
The Art Law PodcastHow Anti-Money Laundering Regulations are Hitting the Art Market in the United Kingdom and What Participants Can Do to ComplySteve and Katie talk to Susan Mumford and Chris King, co-founders of ArtAML, about the recent roll out of AML regulations covering art market participants in the United Kingdom, who is implicated, how they can comply, and what this means for art businesses and the culture of secrecy in the art market generally. The requirement to determine and seek documentation of the ultimate beneficial owner on each end of the transaction is something financial institutions have long done, but not art dealers. ArtAML is an online platform designed to help art market participants comply with their legal obligations of...2021-11-011h 06
The Art Law PodcastSkepticism and Optimism Around Art NFTsKatie and Steve speak (again) with digital art and NFT enthusiast Jason Bailey about the sudden rise of NFTs in the art world, what they really are, why they have value, and who is interested in them and why. Notes for this episode: http://artlawpodcast.com/2021/06/02/skepticism-and-optimism-around-art-nfts/ Follow the Art Law Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artlawpodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@artlawpodcast2021-06-021h 03
The Art Law PodcastFair Use and Andy Warhol: The Line Between Appropriation, Copying, and Inspiration Is Not ClearKatie and Steve finally tackle the evolving area of fair use as a defense to copyright infringement with Luke Nikas, attorney for the Andy Warhol Foundation and Partner at Quinn Emanuel. Luke represents the Foundation in its ongoing litigation with photographer Lynn Goldsmith about Warhol’s use of Goldsmith’s photograph of the artist Prince as an artist study for a series of screen prints. Goldsmith claims Warhol infringed her copyright in the original photograph. The Warhol Foundation says Warhol’s use of the photograph is fair use under the Copyright Act. The trial court agreed with the Warhol Founda...2021-05-031h 18
The Art Law PodcastMoral Rights Around the World: Two Case StudiesSteve and Katie speak with legal scholar Mira Sundara Rajan regarding the international landscape for artist moral rights protections, including the adoption of moral rights laws in the developing world, common law versus civil law jurisdictions, and the connection between moral rights and cultural heritage concerns. Steve, Katie, and Mira dive into two case studies: the Indian case Amar Nath Sehgal v. Union of India (2005) involving government removal of and damage to famous murals from a government building and the more recent controversy surrounding the removal of the Picasso stone murals on the Y-Block government buildings in Oslo, Norway.2021-03-291h 19
The Art Law PodcastNew and Impending Art World Money Laundering RegulationsSteve and Katie speak with British art lawyer and General Counsel of Phillips auction house Martin Wilson about European anti-money laundering regulations applicable to art market participants and their recent implementation in the UK. Generally, these regulations require art dealers, galleries, and auction houses to register with the government and undertake due diligence on every art transaction over a certain threshold amount, including with respect to the identity of all ultimate beneficial owners of the transacting parties. Steve, Katie, and Martin discuss the practicalities of compliance, the general secrecy of the art market and the reasoning behind such regulations...2021-03-051h 06
The Art Law PodcastGoodbye 2020 and some art law updatesSteve and Katie end 2020 with a few updates on past podcast episode topics, including 5Pointz and moral rights litigation, the Painted Bride mosaic mural battle, deaccessioning in Baltimore, and pandemic related litigation. We look forward to many more interesting topics in 2021! Notes for this episode: http://artlawpodcast.com/2021/01/08/goodbye-2020-and-some-art-law-updates/ Follow the Art Law Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artlawpodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@artlawpodcast2021-01-0847 min
The Art Law PodcastCurrent Events of Deaccessioning and Cries of CensorshipSteve and Katie discuss the recent deaccessioning controversies at the Brooklyn Museum, Baltimore Museum of Art, and Everson Museum of Art in light of the ethical guidelines, new AAMD guidance, and the economic and social climate. They also discuss the recent postponement of the Philip Guston retrospective at the National Gallery, Tate Modern, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, and Museum of Fine Arts Boston due to its depiction of white nationalism and the criticisms of that decision. Please note there have been developments on all these topics since our recording, so please see the resources links for up to...2020-10-2947 min
The Art Law PodcastRevisiting the Salvator Mundi by (probably/possibly?) Leonardo da Vinci with Robert SimonSteve and Katie speak with old master art dealer and scholar Robert Simon about his discovery of the painting Salvator Mundi attributed to Leonardo da Vinci and sold by Christie’s in 2017 for almost half a billion dollars. They discuss Simon’s purchase of the painting from an obscure New Orleans auction house, the painting’s painstaking restoration and scholarly review, and what we know and don’t know about its history over the last 500 years. Notes for this episode: http://artlawpodcast.com/2020/09/14/revisiting-the-salvator-mundi-by-probably-possibly-leonardo-da-vinci-with-robert-simon/ Follow the Art Law Podcast Instagram...2020-09-1457 min
The Art Law PodcastCopying in 3D: digitizing GLAM collectionsKatie and Steve speak with Michael Weinberg, the Executive Director of the Engelberg Center of Innovation Law and Policy at NYU Law School, about 3D digitization of gallery, library, archive and museum (“GLAM”) institution collections, the goals and motivations for such projects, and how digitization implicates (or doesn’t) rightsholders. They also discuss the open access framework in which these digitization projects occur, the difference between 2D and 3D copying, and the legal and ethical frameworks at play. Notes for this episode: http://artlawpodcast.com/2020/08/03/copying-in-3d-digitizing-glam-collections/ Follow the Art Law Podcast2020-08-0355 min
The Art Law PodcastArts Nonprofits in the PandemicKatie and Steve speak with Jay Sanders, Executive Director and Chief Curator of Artists Space, a vanguard artist-centered arts nonprofit, founded in 1972 and located in New York City, about the devastating impact of the pandemic shutdown on small arts nonprofits, as well as the inspiration and community being cultivated in this moment of hardship. Notes for this episode: http://artlawpodcast.com/2020/06/01/arts-nonprofits-in-the-pandemic/ Follow the Art Law Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artlawpodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@artlawpodcast2020-06-0143 min
The Art Law PodcastArt Museums in the PandemicKatie and Steve welcome back to the podcast museum director, art commentator, and art historian Max Anderson to discuss what art museums (now closed) are dealing with during the Covid-19 crisis in terms of mission, funding, audience engagement and an uncertain future. They discuss structural issues and practices pre-existing the pandemic that put pressure on museums’ stated missions and appeal, as well as potential shifts in focus and priority that may come out of this current moment of reorganization and prioritization. This is the first of several episodes of the Art Law Podcast discussing the imp...2020-05-1158 min
The Art Law PodcastMoral Rights in Street Art: The 5Pointz Story - RevisitedIn this bonus episode, Steve analyzes the recent Second Circuit decision affirming the 2018 decision awarding $6.75 million to the artists of 5Pointz, whose works were whitewashed and torn down by the building’s owner in 2013. To put this important decision into a broader context, we have re-released our April 2018 episode on 5Pointz, where we discuss the district court case in which the aerosol artists asserted violations of their moral rights under the Visual Artist Rights Act, the U.S. moral rights statute. In that episode, Steve and Katie discuss the origin and contours of moral rights, how they fit into U...2020-03-021h 05
The Art Law PodcastArt of the Chase: Inside Art Auctions - RevisitedThis month, we are updating and rereleasing one of our most popular episodes, Art of the Chase: Inside Art Auctions. In this episode, we take a close look at art auctions – how they work, their place in the art market and the rules and regulations that confine/define them. Auctions at Sotheby’s and Christie’s now regularly net tens and sometimes hundreds of millions of dollars for a single work. Christie’s sold Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi painting for $450 million in 2017, still, by far, the highest price ever garnered by a piece of art at auction. At the sam...2019-12-021h 01
The Art Law PodcastArts Organizations Seek Change Via Deaccessioning: The di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art and Painted Bride Art CenterSteve and Katie discuss two recent art world controversies involving small, local nonprofits seeking to raise money through asset divestment. The di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art in Napa Valley is attempting to deaccession most of its permanent collection of Bay Area art works in the face of vocal art world opposition. In Philadelphia, the proposed sale of the Painted Bride Art Center building by the organization’s board, including its one of a kind mosaic mural façade, has raised public protest and legal challenge. Both entities claim they need funds to continue their mission, while critics say the...2019-11-0542 min
The Art Law PodcastHow Artists Mess with the LawSteve and Katie have a wide ranging conversation with art historian and former lawyer, Joan Kee, about the topic of her new book, Models of Integrity: Art and Law in Post-Sixties America. Their conversation probes artists’ embrace and rejection of legal structures in contemporary America, as well as artistic indifference about and dependence on the law. Notes for this episode: http://artlawpodcast.com/2019/10/01/how-artists-mess-with-the-law/ Follow the Art Law Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artlawpodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@artlawpodcast2019-10-011h 03
The Art Law PodcastMuseum Controversies: Reputational Concerns and "Offensive" ArtCORRECTION: After the recording of this podcast, the San Francisco School Board, in the face of community protest, reconsidered its decision to remove the George Washington murals from George Washington High School and will instead cover them. Against the backdrop of global museums distancing themselves from the Sackler name, two highly controversial Whitney Biennials involving activist calls for the destruction and removal of an artwork and, more recently, calls for the resignation of a Board member who made a fortune building a network of defense equipment companies, and numerous other controversies in the United States a...2019-09-041h 10
The Art Law PodcastRecent New York Holocaust-Era Art Cases Come Out DifferentlySteve and Katie talk about and compare two recent Holocaust-era art cases decided in New York, one in state court on summary judgment and one in federal court on a motion to dismiss grounds. Both cases involve the claims of heirs to recover artwork that left the hands of Jewish owners persecuted by the Nazis, but they otherwise greatly differ. Notes for this episode: http://artlawpodcast.com/2019/08/05/recent-new-york-holocaust-era-art-cases-come-out-differently/ Follow the Art Law Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artlawpodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@artlawpodcast2019-08-0542 min
The Art Law PodcastThe Last Leonardo with Ben LewisKatie and Steve talk with Ben Lewis, author of the new book, The Last Leonardo: The Secret Lives of the World’s Most Expensive Painting, about the history and ultimate sale by Christie’s auction house in November 2017 of the painting Salvator Mundi which they attribute to Leonardo Da Vinci for just over $450.3 million. Notes for this episode: http://artlawpodcast.com/2019/07/01/the-last-leonardo-with-ben-lewis/ Follow the Art Law Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artlawpodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@artlawpodcast2019-07-011h 01
The Art Law PodcastArt and Financial CrimesKatie and Steve speak with Laura Patten and Michael Shepard about financial crimes, including money laundering, involving art. They discuss high profile examples of art-related financial crime, the reality and challenges of compliance for galleries, dealers and other art market participants, and the regulatory landscape in the U.S. and Europe. Laura formerly worked with the CIA and FBI on high stakes art crime investigations. Michael has worked for years on anti-money laundering and financial crimes investigations and programs. Both now work with Deloitte’s art and finance initiative and financial crimes practice. Notes for thi...2019-04-231h 00
The Art Law PodcastTechnologizing Fine ArtIn this episode of the podcast, Steve and Katie are in conversation with Jason Bailey, the founder of the Artnome blog and host of the Dank Rares blockchain art podcast about technology and fine art. With a background in art and tech, Jason is one of the foremost authorities on art and technology. The conversation with Jason is wide-ranging from blockchain, provenance, smart contracts, digital art, cryptocurrency, blockchain-driven auctions, privacy, and generative art. Notes for this episode: http://artlawpodcast.com/2019/03/04/technologizing-fine-art/ Follow the Art Law Podcast Instagram: https://www.insta...2019-03-0457 min
The Art Law Podcast2018 Art Law Litigation StoriesThis month Katie and Steve talk about a few important art law cases from 2018 ranging from Nazi looting, to Italian fisherman discovering an ancient Greek statue, to the risks catalogue raisonné committees face when offering even indirect opinions on authenticity. The specific cases discussed are Von Saher v. Norton Simon Museum of Art at Pasadena, No. 16-56308 (9thCir. 2018); the Getty Bronze case decided by the Italian Court of Cassation; and Mayor Gallery Ltd. v. The Agnes Martin Catalogue Raisonné LLC, No. 655489/2016, 2018 WL 1638810 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Apr. 5, 2018). Notes for this episode: http://artlawpodcast.com/2019/02/06/2018-art-law-litigation-stories/ ...2019-02-0646 min
The Art Law PodcastThe Promise of Blockchain: Transparency in the Art MarketKatie and Steve speak with Nanne Dekking, the founder and CEO of Artory and Chairman of the European Fine Art Fair, about Artory’s efforts to use blockchain to create a transparent registry of art sales, the general challenges to transparency in the fine art market, the problem of detecting fakes and forgeries and trustworthy counterparties, and blockchain’s limitations. Notes for this episode: http://artlawpodcast.com/2019/01/07/the-promise-of-blockchain-transparency-in-the-art-market/ Follow the Art Law Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artlawpodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@artlawpodcast2019-01-071h 02
The Art Law PodcastThe Financialization of Art with Philip HoffmanKatie and Steve speak with Philip Hoffman, founder and CEO of The Fine Art Group, about art funds, art financing, and financial guarantees of auctions sales. They also explore how art is performing as an asset class. Philip started the first “art fund” in 2002, and he is one of the world’s leading experts on the financialization of art. Notes for this episode: http://artlawpodcast.com/2018/12/03/the-financialization-of-art-with-philip-hoffman/ Follow the Art Law Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artlawpodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@artlawpodcast2018-12-0356 min
The Art Law PodcastArtist Series: Aviva Rahmani’s work with VARA, land use and environmental lawArtist Aviva Rahmani speaks to Steve and Katie about her artistic practice investigating and using the law. Her current work, Blued Trees Symphony, is a musical and visual art work installed along miles of proposed pipeline expansion on land subject to possible eminent domain. Rahmani has copyrighted the work and plans to use the Visual Artist Rights Act to prevent the art’s destruction, thereby frustrating the building of pipeline. Notes for this episode: http://artlawpodcast.com/2018/11/08/artist-series-aviva-rahmanis-work-with-vara-land-use-and-environmental-law/ Follow the Art Law Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artlawpodcast/ 2018-11-0830 min
The Art Law PodcastBonus Episode: Berkshire Museum Litigation Update (It’s not over!)Katie and Steve get an update from attorney Nicholas O’Donnell about the status of the lawsuit he brought on behalf of certain members of the Berkshire Museum for breach of fiduciary duty, among other claims, in relation to the Museum’s sale of much of its valuable art collection to pay for operating and capital expenses. While much of the art has been sold, the members fight on. Nick explains the unusual posture of the case to our listeners. *Note: On Monday, the Massachusetts Appeals Court ended the Berkshire Museum deaccessioning legal saga by upholding a decision by the...2018-10-0209 min
The Art Law PodcastNazi Looted Art: Legal Remedies and LimitationsSteve and Katie discuss the Nazis’ complicated and perverse relationship with fine art with attorney and author Nicholas O’Donnell. Nick is the author of the recent book, A Tragic Fate: Law and Ethics in the Battle Over Nazi-Looted Art, which tells the story of stolen and appropriated art in World War II Europe and how the U.S. legal system has been instrumental in dealing with claims for restitution decades later. Steve, Katie and Nick start with the historical landscape in 1930s Europe, and discuss some the most contentious and ongoing disputes. Notes for this...2018-10-011h 17
The Art Law PodcastBonus Episode: Is Cake “Art” and Entitled to First Amendment Free Speech Protections?On this bonus episode, Katie and Steve discuss the recent SCOTUS case Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, 584 U.S. ___ (2018). In this case, a baker claimed his First Amendment free exercise and free speech rights were violated when he was found in violation of a Colorado statute prohibiting disparate treatment based on sexual orientation in public accommodations for refusing to make and sell a wedding cake to a gay couple. The baker refused to make the wedding cake because of his religious objections to gay marriage. Although the controlling decision of the Supreme Court only dealt narrowly with...2018-07-2724 min
The Art Law PodcastArt, Censorship and the First AmendmentOn this month’s episode, Steve and Katie dive into the charged topic of censorship. With guest Professor Amy Adler they talk about government and non-government attempts to censor art, what the legal boundaries are and where the law actually has little if nothing to say about censorship of art. They describe applicable First Amendment doctrine, apply it to art and examine particular examples of art “censorship” from the culture wars of the 1990s through today, from both the political right and left. Notes for this episode: http://artlawpodcast.com/2018/07/02/art-censorship-and-the-first-amendment/ Follow t...2018-07-0248 min
The Art Law PodcastBonus Episode: Berkshire Museum Deaccessioning BeginsKatie and Steve give an update on the first round of auction sales as part of the Berkshire Museum’s court sanctioned deaccessioning plan. They discuss the results of the sales, the museum’s current stance, and where that leaves us (hint: dissatisfied). Notes for this episode: http://artlawpodcast.com/2018/06/11/bonus-episode-berkshire-museum-deaccessioning-begins/ Follow the Art Law Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artlawpodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@artlawpodcast2018-06-1114 min
The Art Law PodcastArt of the Chase: Inside Art AuctionsOn this month’s podcast, we take a close look at art auctions – how they work, their place in the art market and the rules and regulations that confine/define them. Auctions at Sotheby’s and Christie’s now regularly net tens and sometimes hundreds of millions of dollars for a single work. Christie’s recently sold Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi painting for $450 million, by far the highest price ever garnered by a piece of art at auction. At the same time, much about the auction process remains secret. The identity of the buyer and seller is often known o...2018-05-101h 00
The Art Law PodcastBonus Episode: Berkshire Museum Update, Settlement ApprovedKatie and Steve update listeners on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s decision approving the settlement reached between the Attorney General and the Berkshire Museum, which allows the Museum to sell 40 of its most valuable works of art through Sotheby’s with some (minor) conditions. Katie and Steve go over the terms of the settlement and discuss their reservations about the form (if not substance) of this resolution. Since the recording of this bonus episode, it has been reported that the yet to open Lucas Museum in Los Angeles will purchase the painting Shuffleton’s Barbershop, Norman Rockwell’s iconic m...2018-04-1814 min
The Art Law Podcast5Pointz and the Moral Rights of ArtistsOn this month’s podcast we discuss the non-economic “moral rights” of artists in the context of the famous 5Pointz aerosol art mecca in Long Island City, Queens that was whitewashed and torn down in 2013. In the ensuing litigation, the aerosol artists asserted violations of their moral rights under the Visual Artist Rights Act, the U.S. moral rights statute. In a surprise to many, they recently won $6.7 million in damages after succeeding on these claims. The art, however, was permanently lost. Steve and Katie discuss the origin and contours of moral rights, how they fit into U.S. copyri...2018-04-0959 min
The Art Law PodcastBonus Episode: Update on the Berkshire Museum Saga - the AG and Museum Agree to SalesKatie and Steve give listeners an update on the Berkshire Museum deaccessioning controversy. The Massachusetts Attorney General and the Museum have reached an agreement, pending approval by the Supreme Judicial Court, permitting sales of up to $55 million with the famous Norman Rockwell painting Shuffleton's Barbershop going to an undisclosed museum. The Rockwell sons have dropped out of the litigation, but the other plaintiffs oppose the compromise and are still fighting. Notes for this episode: http://artlawpodcast.com/2018/02/26/bonus-episode-update-on-the-berkshire-museum-saga-the-ag-and-museum-agree-to-sales/ Follow the Art Law Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artlawpodcast/...2018-02-2612 min