May 2024 (Newsletter selection)
Market-Proof Rothko Works Continue Selling for Record Prices
In February, news broke that Christie’s sold a Rothko painting for $100 million dollars in a private sale. The private nature of the transaction led to mass speculation about who might be the seller. The piece in question, No. 6 (Violet, Green and Red) (1951) is a quintessential Rothko with his hallmark abstract expressionist touches. A decade ago, Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev, who was recently in the news for his suit against Sothey’s, purchased the painting for $186 million. According to CNBC, hedge fund billionaire and Citadel CEO Ken Griffin allegedly purchased Rothko’s No. 6. Rothko works have had a strong resurgence in public auctions and the public spotlight after a huge retrospective launched in the fall at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris. Sotheby’s has had continued success selling Rothko works, even when the market has been down. Read more here. (OZ)
OpenAI vs. ChatGPT Community: Infringement to Friend
Amidst a flurry of online activity, OpenAI, the renowned artificial intelligence research organization, recently made headlines for lodging a copyright complaint against a subreddit associated with ChatGPT, their language model project. The crux of the matter revolved around the alleged “unauthorized use” of OpenAI’s logo by the subreddit, prompting OpenAI to take action to protect their intellectual property rights. Following the complaint, Reddit swiftly relayed the message to the moderators of the subreddit, alerting them to the copyright infringement allegation. In response to the situation, HOLUPREDICTIONS, a notable figure within the online community, raised questions about Reddit’s protocol for verifying copyright claims, suggesting potential flaws in the platform’s procedures. Despite this, moderators of the subreddit wasted no time in addressing the issue, taking proactive steps such as launching a logo competition to find a suitable replacement for the contentious emblem. However, in a surprising turn of events, OpenAI subsequently reversed its stance, granting permission for the subreddit to continue using their logo—an update that signifies a resolution to the copyright dispute and paves the way for a harmonious relationship between OpenAI and the ChatGPT community on Reddit, especially as users mentioned OpenAI’s team has found the subreddit helpful. See the original post here and read more here.
Christie’s Withdraws Four Ancient Greek Artifacts From Auction Due to Murky Past
Four ancient Greek vases from a recent Christie’s auction in New York were traced back to Gianfranco Becchina, an antiquities dealer convicted of ___. A leading archaeologist, Dr. Christos Tsirogiannis, discovered the connection between the artifacts and Becchina after looking deeper into the provenance documents. Christie’s has denied that they had any knowledge of the origins of the objects or the connection with Becchina and have committed to doing further research to establish whether the allegations are true. In the interim, , Christie’s has withdrawn the four artifacts from sale. Tsirogiannis has called for auction houses to conduct a heightened level of diligence when it comes to provenance research, and to work with authorities to prevent their involvement in exhibiting or selling illicit trafficked objects. Read more here. (OZ)
A Congolese statue on its journey to temporary return
In 1931, the Pende community, located in the Belgian Congo, rose in rebellion and killed the Belgian Colonial Officer Maximilien Balot. One of the symbols that motivated the rebellion was the statue Chief’s or Diviner’s Figure Representing the Belgian Colonial Officer, Maximilien Balot, of unknown author and unique style. In 1972, the statue was purchased by the collector Herbert F. Weiss, who in 2015 sold it to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, which owns the artwork to this day. In 2022, the statue was the subject of a “digital restitution” project by the artists’ cooperative Congolese Plantation Workers Art League and with the support of the Dutch artist Renzo Martens and the KOW Gallery in Berlin. The initiative aimed to raise funds to buy land for reforestation by selling NFTs of the sculpture. After previously criticizing the project and rejecting a request to lend the statue, in February, the VMFA finally agreed to lend the statue for six months to the White Cube Museum in Lusanga, Democratic Republic of Congo. Today, a projection of the statue’s image can be seen in the Dutch pavilion at the Venice Biennale. (VK)
Cultural Rift: Minneapolis Institute of Art Faces Italian Ban Over Disputed Sculpture
The Minneapolis Institute of Art (MIA) finds itself in a cultural standoff with the Italian government over a prized Polykleitos sculpture, the Doryphoros. Italy alleges that the piece, a Pentelic marble copy, was looted from an archaeological site in the 1970s, and is demanding its return. However, the MIA contends that the statue’s origins lie in international waters near Italy’s coast, and rejects Italy’s claim. This disagreement has led to a ban on Italian state museum loans to the MIA, casting a shadow over future collaborations. Diplomatic efforts to resolve the dispute have so far proven ineffective. Read more here.
Latest acquisitions of museum collections
In Paris, the LVMH company and a record-breaking crowdfunding campaign helped the Louvre purchase Jean-Siméon Chardin’s Basket of Wild Strawberries (1761), and helped the Musée d’Orsay purchase an elaborate jasper goblet, Jean-Valentin Morel’s Hope Cup (1855). In the United States, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts received a donation of 1,124 photographs by more than twenty-five artists from the non-profit foundation Joy of Giving Something. (VK)
In Benin, the restitution of twenty-six artifacts springs a long-term cultural plan
In 2022, the return of twenty-six royal objects by France resulted in a three-month exhibition in Benin’s largest city, Cotonou, which attracted more than 230,000 visitors. After the huge success of the exhibition, Benin is investing in culture and hopes to make it the second pillar of the country’s economy. The project includes the construction of four multi-faceted museums spread across the country and a cultural center in Cotonou. In addition, the government is investing in cultural education programs and training for museum staff. (VK)
Where Did the Money Gogh? Van Gogh Themed Café Closed Due to Tax Problems
A café in Arles modeled after the famous Vincent van Gogh painting “Café Terrace at Night” was forced to close this July due to its inability to provide tax documents. The owners of the café couldn’t produce adequate tax documents in 2015, leading to the revelation that it had hidden over €1 million in revenue over two years. The property’s owner, businessman Roland Zemmour, was banned from running businesses for five years and declared by French judges to be personally bankrupt for the next ten years. Now, the café remains closed in the Place du Forum of Arles. Read more here. HEG
Art Theft Scandal: Museum Employee’s Forgeries Fund Lavish Lifestyle
A revelation emerged from the Munich District Court as a former technician at the Deutsches Museum confessed to pilfering paintings and replacing them with fakes, subsequently auctioning off the originals to bankroll a luxurious lifestyle. The scheme netted the defendant over €60,000, funding purchases ranging from expensive wristwatches to a Rolls-Royce. The theft, involving renowned artworks like Franz Stuck’s “The Fairy Tale of the Frog King,” underscores the vulnerability of museum collections, raising concerns about the safeguarding of cultural heritage in storage facilities. Read more here.
Spanish Dealer Arrested for Smuggling Stolen Egyptian Bust
Spanish authorities have apprehended an antiques dealer for trafficking a stolen Egyptian sculpture, dating back to 1450 BCE, in a transcontinental art smuggling operation. The suspect faces charges of money laundering and document forgery after attempting to sell the artifact, valued at €190,000, through a Swiss gallery at the TEFAF Maastricht art fair. Read more here.
A Journey Home: European Investment Bank Returns Flemish Masterpiece to Rightful Heirs
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has repatriated a Flemish Old Master painting by Frans de Momper, stolen during World War II, to its rightful descendants. “A Winterscene by a Village with Travellers,” once part of the EIB’s esteemed art collection, was acquired in good faith from a German Gallery in 1993. However, in 2020, as part of its diligent provenance research efforts, the EIB uncovered unsettling evidence of the painting’s questionable seizure during the tumultuous era of World War II. Seeking to uphold principles of restitution and rectify past injustices, the EIB collaborated with specialists from the London-based Art Loss Register to trace the rightful heirs of the artwork. Monique Koning, a member of the EIB’s Arts Committee, emphasized the institution’s unwavering commitment to righting historical wrongs, stating, “[t]his decision reflects the European Investment Bank’s commitment to upholding the principles of restitution, rectifying historical injustices, and taking concrete actions to right wrongs committed.” Read more here.
Restitution Victory: Heirs of Holocaust Victim, Gisela Freiberg, receives Meyerheim Painting back
The Wilhelm Alexander Meyerheim’s painting, “Danzig Harbour” (1815), was successfully restituted to the heir of Gisela Freiberg, a Jewish refugee who fled Nazi Germany in 1939 and found refuge in the United Kingdom. Gisela registered the artwork herself at the Art Loss Register (ARL) in 2000 and sadly, passed away 15 years later. The recent painting’s identification in an upcoming auction in England by the ARL was made possible due to a pre-war professional photograph taken by Gisela’s mother in Berlin before the Freiberg family was forced to flee the country. Read more here. (AB)
Lessons learned from Richard Serra’s Estate and Gallery Relationship
In the wake of Richard Serra’s death, the artist’s estate came under scrutiny regarding what will happen to his work. It appears that, for now, Richard Serra’s most prominent relationship with the David Zwirner gallery remains unbroken, and representatives reassure that no changes will occur in managing Serra’s artwork. While Zwirner and the Serra Estate represent one possible scenario for how a gallery should manage an artist’s legacy, this situation illuminates the nature of artists’ estates and underscores the important role of those entrusted with preserving an artist’s legacy. Read the article here to learn more about less-than-ideal cases in managing artist legacy estates, and to find resources on estate planning. Read more here. (BP)
Fake Dalí’s plus Picasso’s equals to substantial jail time
Two men in London have been sentenced to prison time jail for perpetrating a sophisticated art fraud scheme, selling counterfeit artworks attributed to Salvador Dalí and Pablo Picasso. Behrad Kazemi and Raj Nasta’s six-year money laundering operation preyed on vulnerable victims, deceiving them into purchasing fake art pieces through cold calls and false promises of investment returns. Sussex Police’s extensive investigation revealed the extent of the scam, uncovering the fraudulent nature of the artworks and the financial losses totaling more than £2.6 million (approximately $3.2 million) suffered by over 125 victims, many of whom were elderly and unaware of the deception until contacted by authorities. Kazemi received a sentence of four years and nine months in prison, while Nasta was sentenced to three years behind bars. These substantial jail terms reflect the severity of their crimes and aim to deter similar fraudulent activities in the future. Read more here.
Controversy at École des Beaux-Arts: Book Alleging Sexual Harassment Suppressed
The École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris faces scrutiny following revelations that it seized and destroyed copies of a book containing sexual harassment allegations against recent Beaux-Arts leadership. Titled “Les Suffragettes de l’art,” the book delves into the history of women at the renowned art school. Shockingly, more than half of the initial print run of 2,000 copies were pulped, with a subsequent edition omitting crucial sections, including one detailing allegations of sexism against former director Jean-Marc Bustamante. The removal of these passages, which addressed issues like the #MeToo movement and gender equality, has sparked outrage and accusations of censorship. Jean-Marc Bustamante, whose directorship ended amidst sexual harassment allegations in 2018, defended himself against the book’s claims, asserting that his comments from 2005 were taken out of context. Despite Bustamante’s rebuttals, questions linger about the suppression of critical discourse within the institution. Alexia Fabre, the current director of Beaux-Arts, acknowledged the decision to remove controversial sections from the book but admitted that it may have been hastily executed. The incident raises broader concerns about academic freedom, transparency, and accountability within the realm of art education and institutional governance. Read more here.
Preserving Ukraine’s Heritage: WMF Receives $1M Funding Boost
In the wake of the devastating Russian invasion of Ukraine, the World Monuments Fund (WMF) received significant funding of $1 million from the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation. This generous contribution bolsters WMF’s Ukraine Heritage Response Fund, enhancing efforts to safeguard cultural treasures amidst conflict. With the Odesa National Fine Arts Museum among the sites recently damaged by Russian missiles, this funding is crucial for ongoing preservation initiatives across the country. WMF’s comprehensive response encompasses diverse projects, from distributing specialized fire extinguishers to protecting historic wooden churches to stabilizing monuments like the Teacher’s House in Kyiv. With a total of $2.5 million raised since 2022 for the Ukraine Heritage Response Fund, WMF remains steadfast in its commitment to supporting Ukrainian heritage professionals and safeguarding the nation’s rich cultural legacy. Read more here.
Sotheby’s Redefines Art Finance with Historic $700M Securitization
Sotheby’s, the renowned auction house, has made waves in the financial world with its latest move: a groundbreaking $700 million art loan securitization. This step by Sotheby’s Financial Services marks a significant milestone in the evolution of art as a viable asset class for institutional investors. By leveraging its extensive art loan portfolio, Sotheby’s has captured the attention of the investment community, offering a structured financial product backed by art collateral. The securitization, launched on April 23, represents a landmark moment in art finance, providing institutional investors with unprecedented access to the art market. Morningstar DBRS, a leading credit ratings agency, has provided valuable insights into the quality and diversification of the underlying assets, further bolstering investor confidence in the stability and potential returns of art-backed securities. Sotheby’s $700 million securitization not only validates the credibility of art as an investable asset but also paves the way for future innovation in art finance. As the demand for alternative investments continues to grow, Sotheby’s has positioned itself at the forefront of this transformative trend, setting a precedent for the future of art-backed debt investing. Read more here.
