Center for Art Law Summer School 2026
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LOCATION:
New York City Bar Association
42 West 44th Street, New York, NY 10036
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DATE & TIME:
May 18, 2026 – May 22, 2026
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Welcome to our Art Law Summer School!
The Art Law Summer School is an intensive five-day educational program designed for legal professionals, scholars, artists, collectors, art market professionals, and students seeking a deeper understanding of the rapidly evolving field of art law.
Created in response to the globalization and innovation of the art market, the program explores how the law shapes relationships among artists, galleries, collectors, museums, advisors, auction houses, and other stakeholders. Through an interdisciplinary curriculum, participants examine both the foundational principles of art law and the emerging legal challenges facing the global art ecosystem. The program covers a broad range of topics, including art market transactions and contracts, artist-gallery relationships, intellectual property, artificial intelligence, copyright, fair use, moral rights, provenance research and restitution, anti-money laundering compliance, cultural heritage law, dispute resolution, and succession planning.
Courses are taught by leading experts from across the art world, including practicing attorneys, law professors, art market specialists, artists, dealers, provenance researchers, advisors, appraisers, and other industry professionals. The curriculum combines academic rigor with practical insight, offering participants a comprehensive understanding of the legal issues shaping today’s art market.
The 2026 edition brought participants together for five immersive days of lectures, panel discussions, field visits, and networking opportunities, fostering meaningful dialogue between professionals working across the legal, artistic, and commercial sectors.
Stay tuned for the 2027 edition!
Photos from our 2026 Art Law Summer School
Sponsors
Thank you to all the institutions and firms for hosting us this year! Many thanks to TEFAF, Brooklyn Museum, Sotheby’s, DLA Piper and Steptoe colleagues for your work and support!
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Hosting our Students and Lectures
We are accepting suggestions and offers from hotels and galleries to host Center for Art Law Summer School Modules this May.
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Becoming a Corporate Sponsor
If you would like to support the Center’s mission, please consider becoming one of the sponsors for the Summer School. Please reach out to artlawteam@itsartlaw.org.
Meet our Organizers
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Irina Tarsis
Founder & Managing Director, Center for Art Law
Irina TarsisFounder & Managing Director, Center for Art Law
Irina Tarsis, Esq., brings business and art history training to her practice of art law. She concentrates on disputes related to ownership of visual art. Founder and Director of the Center for Art Law, she conducts provenance research and consults on art law matters such as title disputes, copyright infringement and fair use, artists’ rights, restitution, authenticity and provenance research. Ms. Tarsis is a regular speaker on resale royalty rights, due diligence in provenance research, fair use issues affecting visual arts, and many other art law-related topics.
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Atreya Mathur
Director of Legal Research, Center for Art Law
Atreya MathurDirector of Legal Research, Center for Art Law
Atreya Mathur is the Director of Legal Research at the Center for Art Law. She received her Master of Laws from New York University School of Law where she specialized in Competition, Innovation, and Information Laws, with a focus on copyright, intellectual property, and art law. She also co-founded m e r a k i consultancy, a consultancy service focused on legal academia and higher education in law. -
Richard Lehun
Founding member of Stropheus, a New York-based legal and business collective for the arts
Richard LehunFounding member of Stropheus, a New York-based legal and business collective for the arts
Richard Lehun is an attorney and consultant focused on business and legal relations in art, visual media, film, and television. He is responsible for transactions involving fiduciary duties and conflicts of interest, particularly those relating to artist-gallery relations, artist commissions, art advising, consignor-auction house relations, gallery, museum, auction house, and non-profit ethics. He also works in the area of arts-related intellectual property issues, including copyright and trademark.
