In 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: h...
Mar 04, 2019•57 min•Season 2Ep. 6
This 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 R...
Feb 06, 2019•47 min•Season 2Ep. 5
Katie 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 t...
Jan 07, 2019•1 hr 3 min•Season 2Ep. 4
Katie 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.in...
Dec 03, 2018•56 min•Season 2Ep. 3
Artist 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/ar...
Nov 08, 2018•30 min•Season 2Ep. 2
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 end...
Oct 02, 2018•10 min
Steve 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 d...
Oct 01, 2018•1 hr 17 min•Season 2Ep. 1
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...
Jul 27, 2018•25 min
On 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 l...
Jul 02, 2018•48 min•Season 1Ep. 5
Katie 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/@artlawpodcast...
Jun 11, 2018•14 min
On 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 remai...
May 10, 2018•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 4
Katie 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 t...
Apr 18, 2018•14 min
On 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. ...
Apr 09, 2018•59 min•Season 1Ep. 3
Scientist Jamie Martin talks with us about wine forger Rudy Kurniawan, his work investigating wine fraud and the similarities between wine and art. Notes for this episode: http://artlawpodcast.com/2018/03/19/bonus-clip-jamie-martin-on-wine-fraud/ Follow the Art Law Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artlawpodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@artlawpodcast...
Mar 19, 2018•6 min
On this month's podcast we discuss the role of science in fine art. Specifically, what can science tell us about a work of art's origin and authenticity? Can science help us discover fakes and forgeries undetected by traditional connoisseur style observation? We are joined by the famous art scientist Jamie Martin to discuss these issues, recount famous forgery scandals, and delve into his techniques and practices. Notes for this episode: http://artlawpodcast.com/2018/03/12/what-can-science-tell-...
Mar 12, 2018•54 min•Season 1Ep. 2
Katie 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...
Feb 26, 2018•12 min
In our first full-length episode, we discuss the Berkshire Museum's controversial decision to sell off 40 works of iconic art from its permanent collection to raise funds to rebrand itself as a science and natural history museum, and build a large endowment. Only after the regional museum had signed an agreement with Sotheby's auction house to deaccession these works, did the museum announce its plans to the public. Museum and cultural groups, the fine arts community, and certain local constitue...
Feb 12, 2018•43 min•Season 1Ep. 1
In our introductory episode we introduce ourselves and discuss the podcast's theme of exploring topics where art intersects with and interferes with the law, and vice versa. We preview upcoming episodes, including our first full length episode on when and how museums may sell art from their collections (known as deaccessioning) and the public outcry these decisions have. Other episodes will explore artist moral rights and street art, censorship of art, scientific analysis of art and authenticity...
Jan 19, 2018•6 min•Season 1Ep. 1
