Vincent Noce

Unesco, stop citing 'bogus' $10bn figure, art trade pleads

Ahead of a major anniversary this weekend, the international organisation is under fire for apparently exaggerating the scale of the illicit trade in cultural goods

Art world rejoices in Biden’s win of US presidency

Artists, collectors, policy makers and gallery owners share their reactions after the tightly fought election

France ordered to return three Derain paintings to heirs of Jewish dealer René Gimpel

Ruling by Paris court of appeal sets an important precedent for pending restitution claim over 16 paintings in French museum collections

Quebec Culture Minister promises overhaul of Montreal Museum of Fine Arts after independent report cites governance issues

The redacted report suggests major changes, including the creation of an ethics committee or a reduction in the board’s size

Paris court case shines a light on growing cosiness between curators, state museums and galleries

Marlborough gallery and a retired Guimet Museum curator are accused of bribery in their promotion of the artist Chu Teh-Chun—but say they broke no rules

Chair of Montreal Museum of Fine Arts steps down as former director sues over unfair dismissal

Michel de la Chenelière is not seeking term renewal as controversy over Nathalie Bondil's departure rumbles on

French dealer sues over Egyptian stele seized on way to Tefaf New York

Legal case brought against antiquities expert who also sold an allegedly looted golden sarcophagus to the Metropolitan Museum last year, while an arrest is made in Germany

Icom in turmoil after row over new definition of museums

Wrangling over "ideological" text prompts resignations from International Council of Museums

Douglas Latchford's death reignites unresolved controversy over alleged smuggling of Cambodian antiquities

News of the death of dealer and expert in South East Asian art raises strong reactions and unanswered questions

'Adventurer scholar' Douglas Latchford dies in Bangkok, aged 89

Expert in Khmer and Indian antiquities was a dealer in Cambodian art in the 1970s and last year was accused of smuggling and creating false provenances for antiquities

Yves Bouvier evaded paying taxes on £276m of art sales, Swiss authorities claim

Switzerland's Federal Criminal Court ordered documents unsealed that call into question whether the dealer declared all profits from sales made to Dimitry Rybolovlev

Anna Brady. , with additional reporting by Vincent Noce

Montreal Museum of Fine Arts placed on 'concerned status' over sacking of director

Canada Council for the Arts will monitor the crisis following Nathalie Bondil’s dismissal, which could put the museum's public funding at risk

Security questions remain after Nantes cathedral blaze: 'There's no European country where church fires are this common'

An arson investigation has been launched into the fire at the Gothic St Peter and St Paul Cathedral in western France

Musée d'Orsay cuts ties with Montreal Museum of Fine Arts over sacking of director Nathalie Bondil

International museum leaders speak out against the treatment of "the best, most dynamic, and most innovative art museum director in North America"

Notre Dame's spire to be rebuilt the way it was—but use of lead likely to spark new controversy

French President Macron makes u-turn after first suggesting the 19th-century spire, which was destroyed in the fire last year, should be replaced by a contemporary design

Monaco court dismisses criminal case against Yves Bouvier

The Swiss art dealer had been accused of fraud and money laundering by the Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev—a related case in Geneva remains active

American collector to sue France over restitution of $1.7m Pissarro painting

Real estate developer Bruce Toll claims compensation after French High court confirms return of Pissarro's Pea Harvest to heirs of collector Simon Bauer

Paris dealer who sold golden sarcophagus to New York’s Metropolitan Museum charged with fraud and money laundering

The work was returned to Egypt last year after officials were shown evidence it might have been looted during the Arab Spring in 2011

'I am not too worried by crowd problems': Louvre director predicts visitor numbers will drop by 80%

Jean-Luc Martinez believes that capitalising on the museum's permanent collection will be key to recovery

Former Louvre curator among five arrested in Paris in antiquities trafficking investigation

Case involves "hundreds of objects worth millions" looted from the Near and Middle East

Trial of Paris gallery over stolen Picasso works delayed until next year due to coronavirus court backlog

A handyman allegedly stole works on paper from the artist’s stepdaughter over three years, before they were discovered in the possession of the owner of Belle et Belle gallery

French museums reveal plans to re-open in June and July

Louvre is "is working towards a planned reopening on 6 July" with strict rules for social distancing and 70% of the museum open to the public

One third of French galleries could shut before end of 2020 due to coronavirus impact

Survey issued by the Comité professionnel des galeries d'art reveals the economic damage already done, with members estimating a total loss of €184m for this quarter

Patrick Devedjian—French politician and driving force behind new museum dedicated to the Sun King—has died of coronavirus

Devedjian was leading plans for a museum project in Saint-Cloud, west of Paris, about the reign of Louis XIV

France’s culture minister tests positive for Covid-19

Franck Riester was due to meet with representatives from the country’s arts and culture spaces about the impact of the coronavirus epidemic, but is now resting at home

Old Master scandal dealt fresh blow as Court of Appeal rejects arrest warrant

French investigation into Giuliano Ruffini, the prime suspect in the case, is hampered by Milan ruling

Old Master scandal: Italy rejects European arrest warrant for painter connected to forgery case

Lino Frongia was arrested in September as part of a major investigation involving works purportedly by Lucas Cranach, Frans Hals, Parmigianino, Gentileschi and Bronzino

Lawnews

France reconfirms that women baring their breasts in public is illegal—even for artists and protestors

Two women who are part of the Ukrainian feminist group Femen were charged for topless protests, one of which was in a Paris museum

Alleged Bronzino seized from the Alana Collection in connection with ongoing Old Master scandal

French customs officials have barred the return of Saint Cosmos to the US following its inclusion in a show at the Jacquemart André Museum in Paris

Federal charges could lead to deeper scrutiny of Cambodian art in the US

Major museums hold works linked to prolific collector accused of smuggling and fraud