Fall 2017

Artforum #Too: Knight Landesman, the co-publisher of an influential art magazine, resigned after a former employee accused him of smearing her reputation following years of harassment and unwanted sexual advances.

Bold Win/Dispute Resolution: The New York gallery owner, Mary Boone, has reached a seven-figure settlement with Alec Baldwin to resolve the actor’s lawsuit alleging she misled him about the uniqueness of a Ross Bleckner painting he purchased, called “Sea and Mirror.” The complaint filed in 2016, alleged that the work in question was not the original, unique version of the artwork. Baldwin v. Boone, et al., 654807/2016 (NY Sup Ct) is dismissed with prejudice.

WA Confidential: Judge Robert Lasnik disqualified a Seattle attorney and her law firm from representing Michael Moi, plaintiff who alleges that the glass artist Dale Chihuly failed to credit him for artistic contributions. Attorney Anne Bremner was removed from the case this month at the request of Chihuly’s lawyers, who argued that Bremner previously represented others who sued Chihuly and as a result obtained confidential information about Chihuly’s operations.

Pope May Stay Cross Must Go: At least four French courts (including that of public opinion) have considered the fate of the 2006-Tsereteli statute of Pope Jone Paul II. The final verdict from the France’s Supreme Court, citing the 1905 secularization law, the cross must be removed but the statute can stay in situ, in Brittany. The outcome is hardly protective of the Georgian-Russian artist’s right of integrity but there is something to b e said about the Solomonic decision. Perhaps when the next debate about confederate equestrian statues erupts in the United States, someone could propose removing the horseman and keeping the horse.

Virginia is for Public Safety: Governor of Virginia announced an emergency regulation restricting not only the size of the crowd permitted to assemble near the Robert E. Lee statue in Richmond (up to 500 people) but also requiring permits to hold events for groups in excess of 10 people and banning guns at all permitted events.

Hobby Lobby: A new private museum opened in Washington DC this month, with a modest name of the Museum of the Bible, with a price tag slightly higher than the sales price of Salvador Mundi. The Museum began making news earlier in the year, when the US Department of Justice effectuated a forfeiture of hundreds of smuggled artifacts and collected a $3 million non-penalty from Hobby Lobby, a craft store, whose President, Steve Green, is the chairman of the Museum of the Bible.