IFAR Journal

Article discusses the recent hypothesis that challenges Goya’s authorship of the series of so-called “black” paintings. The argument of the opposition is outlined and dismantled

Update on the author’s two previous IFAR articles on authenticity and the legal liability of experts giving opinions. Article focuses on recent case law of common tort liabilities as well as preventative measures open to experts to protect themselves.

Highlighted thefts of the previous two years include: Salvador Dali, Christ on the Cross, 1965; Leonardo Da Vinci (attrib.), Madonna with Yarnwinder, c.1501-1508, (stolen from Drumlanrig Castle in August 2003); John L. Audubon, Female Turkey with Young, (stolen with 51 other items from Hobcaw House in South Carolina); Benvenuto Cellini, Saltcellar, c. 1540-44, (stolen from Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna); Ivory and Gold Plaque, Nimrud, c.720 BC, (looted April 2003 from the Iraq Museum, Baghdad during Operation Iraqi freedom).

Highlighted recoveries of the previous two years include: Head of a Sumerian Woman,, Warka/Uruk, c.3000 BC, (recovered September 2003); The Bassetki Statue, (recovered November 2003); Caspar David Friedrich, Nebelschwaden, c.1818-20, (recovered August 2003); Peter Paul Rubens, Portrait of Erycius Puteanus, c.1651-30, (recovered August 2002); Peter Paul Rubens, Portrait of a Dominican Monk, c.1610, (recovered December 2002); Titian, Rest on the Flight into Egypt, 1510, (recovered August 2002); Peter Brueghel, The Elder, c.1525-69, (recovered June 2002).

The author, an archaeologist recently returned from Iraq, discusses the ongoing work to restore and conserve Iraq’s cultural history in the wake of the destruction caused by the war.

The U.S. has added import restrictions, under the CPIA, at the request of Cyprus and Cambodia to protect their endangered cultural property. It is also considering a similar request from Honduras.

Discusses a legal battle over the authenticity of a seated statue of Egyptian Middle Kingdom Pharaoh Sesostris III taking place in France. The wife of the owner of Christie’s auction house, who has since denounced it as a modern forgery, recently purchased it at auction.

In January, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the case of Frederick Schultz.

Notice on the confusing situation involving misattributions due to the existence of two artists who sign their work “Rockwell Kent.” Article urges buyers to be aware of this situation.

The Federal Immunity from Seizure Act invoked to return an El Greco painting to Crete after it was on loan to a museum in New York.

Heirs of Kasimir Malevich filed a lawsuit in January against Amsterdam’s Stedelijk Museum for 14 paintings on loan to an exhibit in the U.S. that the heirs claim were illegally acquired by the museum.

Newly reported thefts include: Joseph Henry Sharp, Jerry with Apache Bow and Arrows, 1921, (stolen Jan. 28, 2003); Pierre-August Renoir, Landscape, (stolen from a private residence in New York); Georgia O’Keeffe, Special No. 21 (Palo Duro Canyon), 1916, (stolen from the Museum of Fine Arts, NM on December 16, 2003).

Recently recoveries include the following 5 cameos by David Le Marchand, stolen while on loan to the Art Gallery of Ontario and recovered on January 31, 2004: Portrait of Sir Isaac Newton, c. 1710; Portrait of Christopher Wren, Jr., c.1700-20; Portrait of Charles Mordant, c.1704-13; Portrait of a Woman and Her Daughter with a Whippet, c.1710; Portrait of Sir Humphrey Morice, c.1716-20.