Our Art History

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Lessons on Auction Houses from Sotheby’s and the Case of the Stolen Renoir

By Hanoch Sheps, J.D.* Though not all art-related thefts involve multimillion dollar artworks – as portrayed in The Thomas Crown Affair remake – the theft...
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What’s in a name ‘Borghe$e’?

  Coat of arms of the House of Borghese Depending on one's background and taste, 'Borghese' is associated with different things: Italian papal history, art collection...
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The Journey of Columbia University’s Rembrandt

Rembrandt, "Portrait of a Man with Arms Akimbo," 1658. The Otto Naumann Limited gallery describes Rembrandt's "Portrait of a Man with Akimbo" exquisitely on their...
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U.S. Court of Appeals hears arguments regarding stolen Herzog artworks

Image of Baron Herzog's study with El Greco paintings. On January 23, 2013, Judges David B. Sentelle, David S. Tatel and Stephen Fain Williams of the...
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Homage to Grand Central Anniversaries

On February 1, 2013, New York celebrated the centennial anniversary of the Grand Central Terminal. It is arguably the most famous train station in the...
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Theft of 3,000 Year Old Sacred Petroglyphs Along the California-Nevada Border Shock Paiute Tribe and Archaeologists Alike

A theft of unprecedented proportions has occurred in eastern California. Equipped with ladders, saws, and other heavy duty power tools, unknown thieves gouged out six...
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Gangsters with Taste: Robert Gentile and the Notorious 1990 Boston Art Heist

Reputed mobster Robert Gentile was denied bail in federal court yesterday, partly in the hopes that he may have information about one of the 20th...
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Astor’s Estate out of Probate

The last Mrs. Astor of New York died in 2007. A five-year dispute over her estate (which will and revisions to probate), ended in the...
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Authentication Committees Disband: Warhol 2011, Basquiat 2012, Who’s Next?

On January 7, 2012, the Authentication Committee of the estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960 - 1988) ("The Committee") announced its intention to disband next September....
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Art Fraud Case ends with a Six-Year Sentence

Remember her? some $1.35 million painting, "Portrait of a Girl" by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, painter of the Barbizon school in France? She was purchased by Thomas...
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Body Painting in NY

Body painter Andy Golub has been attracting crowds in Times Square by using topless women as canvases. In New York, women are allowed to be...
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Art Terrorized in DC, Encore

Who: Susan Burns -- Repeat Offender When: August 2011 What: Arrested slamming Henri Matisse's painting against a wall at Washington's National Gallery of Art At...
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