IFAR Journal

Volume 14/15, No. 4/1

2014

Art for Sale? Bankruptcy and the Detroit Institute of Arts
— Samuel Sachs II, Graham W. J. Beal, Richard Levin, and Frank Robinson
The edited proceedings of an October 2013 IFAR Evening where an expert team of speakers discussed the background, current developments, and possible legal and moral ramifications of the possible sale of the Detroit Institute of Art’s collection in order to offset the City of Detroit’s debt in light of its filing for bankruptcy protection.

Historical Perspective on the DIA – Art for Sale? Bankruptcy and the Detroit Institute of Arts
— Samuel Sachs II
A former director of the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) discusses the historical importance and continued relevance of the museum and the circumstances that led first to a cutback in state funding of the museum and, ultimately, to its precarious situation due to the city’s bankruptcy.

The Director’s Take – Art for Sale? Bankruptcy and the Detroit Institute of Arts
— Graham W. J. Beal
The current director of the DIA discusses the beneficent relationship between the city and the museum and the challenges currently faced by the museum in opposing creditors who view its collection only as a lucrative saleable asset.

The Legal Perspective: Municipal Bankruptcy – Art for Sale? Bankruptcy and the Detroit Institute of Arts
— Richard Levin
A legal advisor to the DIA regarding its bankruptcy explains municipal bankruptcy, how it differs from other bankruptcies, how its rules pertain to the museum, and what that portends for a resolution to the crisis.

Museums and Their Communities – Art for Sale? Bankruptcy and the Detroit Institute of Arts
— Frank Robinson
A former museum director, who was criticized for a letter about the DIA that he sent to The New York Times, discusses the ethical dilemmas faced by art museums located in communities in economic decline.

Artists Resale Rights in the U.S.: Overdue or Shouldn’t Do?
— Philippa S. Loengard, The Honorable Jerrold L. Nadler, Karyn Temple Claggett, Theodore H. Feder, and Sandra L. Cobden
The edited proceedings of a November 2013 IFAR Evening in which five distinguished speakers discussed the pros and cons of the U.S. implementing a resale right for visual artists.

An Overview – Artists Resale Rights in the U.S.: Overdue or Shouldn’t Do?
— Philippa S. Loengard
The director of Columbia Law School’s Kernochan Center for Law, Media and the Visual Arts defines the resale royalty and describes its history and application outside the U.S. and, within the U.S., in California.

The Artists Resale Rights Bill – Artists Resale Rights in the U.S.: Overdue or Shouldn’t Do?
— Jerrold L. Nadler
The New York Congressman, who introduced the Equity for Visual Artists Act (EVAA) in Congress in 2011, describes the provisions of a new bill he was going to propose in the current Congress.

The Copyright Office Review – Artists Resale Rights in the U.S.: Overdue or Shouldn’t Do?
— Karyn Temple Claggett
The Associate Register of Copyrights, U.S. Copyright Office, discusses some of the practical, legal and ethical issues surrounding resale royalties that became apparent during a year-long study undertaken by the Copyright Office a the request of Congress.

The Argument Pro – Artists Resale Rights in the U.S.: Overdue or Shouldn’t Do?
— Theodore H. Feder
The founder and president of the Artists Rights Society argues in favor of a resale royalty noting that visual artists are the exceptional creative authors who do not receive royalties and that auction markets have not suffered in countries where the royalty has been adopted.

The Argument Con – Artists Resale Rights in the U.S.: Overdue or Shouldn’t Do?
— Sandra L. Cobden
A General Counsel at Christie’s auction house discusses reasons for opposing resale royalties for the U.S., including dramatic differences in post-Recession art market recovery in countries with and without the royalty, the potential dilution of constitutional protections for private property, and the fact that a royalty would primarily benefit the most commercially successful artists.

Come Back in Two Hours for Your Forgery
— Aaron Milrad and Christian Orton
The two authors, both attorneys, discuss 3D printing, its potential role in the thriving art forgery industry, and some of the legal implications.

News & Updates: The Tangled Web of a Munich Art Trove
— Sharon Flescher and Michele Wijegoonaratna
An in-depth discussion of the much-publicized story of Cornelius Gurlitt, the German art dealer’s son from whose Munich apartment authorities confiscated more than 1,000 works of art that had been hidden for more than 50 years, some of which were looted during the Holocaust era.

News & Updates: Ancient Gold Tablet Returned to German Museum
— Ann-Margret Gidley
An update of a restitution claim for a tiny gold Assyrian tablet brought in Surrogate Court in New York by a German museum against the heirs of Riven Flamenbaum, a Holocaust survivor.

News & Updates: Consignor Confidentiality Is Here to Stay
— Ann-Margret Gidley and Sharon Flescher
The update to a case, Jenack v. Rabizadeh, in which a New York State court initially ruled that an anonymous auction consignor could not subsequently sue; that anonymity was precluded under the Statute of Frauds. The decision was reversed on appeal.

News & Updates: Better Late Than Never: Stolen Renoir Returns to Baltimore Museum After 60 Years
— Sharon Flescher and Ann-Margret Gidley
A discussion of the recovery and subsequent ownership battle for a painting that was stolen from the Baltimore Museum of Art in 1951 and turned up at auction in 2012.

News & Updates: No Peace for the Mummy Mask: Oral Argument in SLAM Suit
— Ann-Margret Gidley and Sharon Flescher
An update on a story followed by IFAR Journal since 2005. In January the Eight Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in the forfeiture action against the St. Louis Art Museum for an Egyptian mask known as Ka-Nefer-Nefer.

News & Updates: New Lease on Life for Cassirer Claim
— Ann-Margret Gidley and Sharon Flescher
An update on a story followed by IFAR Journal since 2008 concerning the restitution claim for a Pissarro painting brought by the heirs of a Holocaust survivor against a museum in Madrid. A court has revived the claim for the second time.

News & Updates: Khmer Statue Back to Cambodia: What Does This Mean for the Norton Simon Companion Piece?
— Sharon Flescher and Ann-Margret Gidley
The resolution of a story closely followed by IFAR Journal since 2013 about a federal court case concerning Sotheby’s and the consignor of a Cambodian stone statue withdrawn from sale. The article discusses the implications for a complaint against the Norton Simon Museum.

News & Updates: Recent CPAC Activity: U.S. Renews Import Agreement with China; Signs New Agreements with Belize and Bulgaria
— Ann-Margret Gidley and Sharon Flescher
An update on the recent U.S. bilateral agreements for the protection of international cultural property under the U.S. Cultural Property Implementation Act.

News & Updates: Proposed NY State Bill Protecting Art Experts Is 45+ Years in the Making
— Sharon Flescher
The discussion of a bill, recently introduced in the New York State Legislature, that aims to protect art experts from lawsuits.

Stolen Art
Stolen items include Taddeo di Bartolo’s Crucifixion, stolen in Florence, Italy; nine Le Corbusier etchings stolen in Italy; two paintings by Norval H. Morrisseau, stolen in Tiny, Canada; Piet Mondrian’s Untitled (Eucalyptus or Sunflower), stolen in New York City.

Recovered Art
Recovered items include Alexander Levy’s Woman in a Black Kimono, stolen in Connecticut; Renoir’s Paysage Bords de Seine, stolen from the Baltimore Museum of Art; the “Lipinski Stradivarius” violin, stolen in Milwaukee, WI.