Visual Artists Rights Act

Art lawanalysis

Has a US law created to safeguard artists’ work backfired?

Critics say that a stalemate over the fate of a piece of Land art in Iowa demonstrates that the terms of the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 are far too narrow

Second judge rules that Vermont Law School did not violate artist's rights in covering up problematic murals

The decision comes after the artist, Sam Kerson, appealed a district court’s 2021 ruling

Artist’s lawsuit against school that sought to cover up his murals heads to appeals court

A district court sided with the school in late 2021, but artist Sam Kerson hopes an appeals court decision will help keep his Underground Railroad murals on view

Vermont Law School can hide a mural that offended students behind a wall, court rules

A 1993 painting of the state’s historic role on the Underground Railroad depicts Black slaves as caricatures, while white abolitionists are idealised

Lawnews

New York Supreme Court permanently bans gallery from showing ‘distorted’ image of artist’s work

Pat Lipsky had sued Spanierman Gallery under the 1980 Artist Authorship Rights Act for digitally manipulating a photograph of her Color Field painting Bright Music II

Artist sues Los Angeles and the Chinese American Museum for junking his work

Lawsuit demands that court issue an injunction to prevent future dismantling of works of art without artists’ supervision

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