Institute of Art and Law

"In an unprecedented move, two artists have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, challenging the agency’s authority to regulate NFTs or non-fungible tokens." https://buff.ly/3WQkDlS

New on the blog - Henri Matisse’s "Odalisque" will be restituted to the heirs of Albert and Marie Stern, per the Netherlands Restitutions Committee. The painting was sold under duress during Nazi occupation and has been with the Stedelijk Museum since 1941. https://buff.ly/3WtISoN #ArtHistory #Restitution

"Six years ago, it set up the Return of Cultural Heritage (RoCH) programme, and began looking at collections worldwide that might have holdings to return. Among the 200 institutions it first contacted, 74 responded positively." https://buff.ly/4dnYQr7

The new Labour government is now scrapping plans to build a tunnel under the World Heritage Site of #Stonehenge. In order to get caught up on the controversy surrounding the tunnel and its detractors, read Rebecca Hawkes-Reynolds' excellent summary of the judicial review from 2021 on our blog: https://buff.ly/3yn9jEu And her full-length commentary in our journal: https://buff.ly/3yn9j7s

Enhance your expertise in #museumcollections with our Diploma in Law and Collections Management. Join us in London on 14-18 October 2024. Enrol today on our website! https://buff.ly/4bNeqvr #ArtLaw #MuseumStudies

This weekend, I wrote an opinion piece about the Vatican collections, the transformative figure of Pope Francis and #repatriation. This is in response to a call to return material to First Nations communities in Canada, which was made in high-level meetings between the Pope and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Much of the research behind this piece comes from a detailed article written by Chiara Gallo and me that will appear in the next edition of the Institute of Art and Law journal Art Antiquity and Law. In it, we investigate the repatriation initiatives taken by the Pope and how they fit within the legal structure of the Vatican collections. We consider contentious collections coming from around the world and the recent returns of material to Athens and South America. How does this fit within the larger theme of reconciliation between the Catholic Church and other groups that may have been hurt by the Church in the past? The Pope seems to be very serious about reconciliation and repatriation. But in order to get it right, the Vatican will need to become more transparent, will have to follow a clear policy and procedure when dealing with these issues, and will ultimately have to invest in greater #provenance research. The article in The Globe and Mail is paywalled, but DM me for a copy... and let me know what you think. Also watch the Institute of Art and Law website to find out when the next issue of the journal will be released. https://t.co/f1LkgdXDQf

Discover the exclusive benefits of an IAL membership, including discounts on all our courses, access to member-only events, and invaluable networking opportunities with leading art law professionals. Learn more on our website! #ArtLaw #Membership https://buff.ly/3B3H4bC

"The University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art has returned two Benin bronzes to the Oba of Benin, the first time a US museum has handed back works to the head of the former royal family of the Benin empire. In a ceremony held earlier this week at the Benin Palace in Nigeria, the museum restituted two objects, a brass plaque and wooden altarpiece, to Oba Ewuare II."

The University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art has returned two looted Benin bronzes to Oba Ewuare II, marking the first time a US museum has handed back works to the head of the former Benin empire https://ow.ly/qWTZ50SFgBJ

Really excited to share that the Institute of Art and Law published my article on the recent guilty pleas of two forgers involved in the Norval Morrisseau fraud & forgery scheme. “Norval Morrisseau – also known by his Anishinaabe name “Copper Thunderbird” – left a lasting mark on contemporary Indigenous art with his vibrant, spiritually-infused Woodland style paintings. However, alongside his remarkable artistic legacy, a darker narrative of forgery and exploitation has been emerging. In March 2023, Canadian police arrested eight individuals involved in creating thousands of Morrisseau forgeries, valued at nearly $100 million — speculated to be one of the largest art forgery schemes in history.” Check out the article to find out more!