Art law

Seller contests having to repay Sotheby’s for allegedly forged Frans Hals

In latest hearing of ongoing legal saga, Fairlight Art Ventures, co-vendor of painting sold in 2011 for $10.75m, is refusing to pay auction house more than $5.3m

British-Chinese artist Gordon Cheung left out of pocket by Shanghai gallery

Ten years on, defunct Other Gallery owes the artist almost £44,000 and has yet to return 16 works

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

New York developer who whitewashed 5Pointz graffiti—and owes artists $6.75m in damages—appeals to Supreme Court

Petition focuses on the phrasing of the Visual Artists Rights Act, which protects works of “recognized stature” without defining what that means

California man sentenced to five years in prison for $6m international art fraud scheme

Philip Righter pleaded guilty to selling works fraudulently attributed to Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring, among others

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

Anatole Shagalov must pay Sotheby's $2m for Keith Haring painting, judge rules

Art dealer did not pay up for painting bought at auction in 2017

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

Alleging censorship, ACLU sues Miami Beach for removal of painting memorialising the police shooting of Raymond Herisse

A painting by Rodney Jackson was removed from an exhibition focusing on racial justice issues at the request of Miami Beach officials

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

Convicted art fraudster Ezra Chowaiki subject of yet more legal drama

New racketeering suit against the disgraced New York art dealer, brought by a Spanish collector regarding paintings by Picasso and Léger, gets off to a mixed start

Art arbitration panel in The Hague steps up a gear to tackle complex disputes

Around 170 more arbitrators and mediators appointed to court panel which aims to increase expertise and impartiality

Art lawcomment

Selling art online? Here are the legal pitfalls to avoid

Lawyer Petra Warrington on how to protect your business if you are holding online auctions, exhibiting and selling works on Instagram, or entering into sale contracts by email

Gold tycoon and art collector James Stunt charged with money laundering and forgery

The former husband of heiress Petra Ecclestone denies any criminality and says he will contest all charges

Robert Indiana’s LOVE at centre of new $150m fraud claim

American Image Art founder alleges certain works are in the public domain and cannot be copyrighted

New York judge dismisses further counterclaims made by Robert Indiana's estate against Morgan Art Foundation

The decision follows a similar ruling made last July in which the estate’s counterclaims of non-payment of royalties and unauthorised reproductions were dismissed

Luanda Leaks: Isabel dos Santos—who owns vast African art collection—accused of making her $2.2bn fortune by exploiting Angola

Dos Santos and her husband Sindika Dokolo own around 3,000 works by artists including William Kentridge and Zanele Muholi

UK fails to save painting of 'paramount importance' as Getty export licence is granted

Recently rediscovered 18th-century work by artist Joseph Wright of Derby was bought by the Los Angeles museum in March last year

UK light artist sues Miami botanical garden over 'unauthorised replicas' of his work

Bruce Munro claims the Fairchild Tropical Botanical Gardens intentionally imitated his works for its festive event known as The NightGarden

French court upholds suspended sentence for Picasso's former electrician

Pierre Le Guennec and his wife Danièle hoarded 271 works for 40 years

Funding Secure goes into administration after borrowers including London art dealer fail to pay back loans

Matthew Green owes the firm around £3m, according to legal documents filed by the peer-to-peer lender

Number of Manhattan's park art vendors can be limited by New York City, court rules

Appeals court says that guidelines limiting number of sellers in four green spaces are constitutional

Long-running Facebook battle over censored Courbet painting gets happy ending

Social media giant pays out after closing French teacher's account for posting photo of the Origin of the World

Lawsuitsarchive

Collector wins $1.7 million in damages from New York Gallery over violation of lending contract

Jean-Pierre Lehmann was denied “the right of first refusal over everybody”

Mayor Gallery sues over Agnes Martin

Catalogues raisonnés emerge as the latest front in the battle to authenticate works and secure market value

Richard Prince is sued yet again for unauthorised appropriation of photographs

Eric McNatt files lawsuit over artist’s reproduction of a portrait of rock musician Kim Gordon

Picasso’s electrician admits he lied in court

Pierre Le Guennec changes his story claiming artist's wife gave him 271 works in rubbish bag

National Gallery director says $30m Matisse portrait 'not Nazi-looted art'

Heirs of Greta Moll are demanding London museum returns painting of their grandmother

Bipartisan bill to remove hurdles for heirs seeking Holocaust-era art

The legislation, sponsored by presidential hopeful Ted Cruz among others, comes as the race for the US election heats up