Art Law Colloquium: Research, Cases & Litigation in Art Law

January 21, 2025

Gale P. Elston is a distinguished attorney with a specialization in art law. Her first book is coming soon. Admitted to practice in both New York and California, Elston is the founder and principal attorney of Gale P. Elston P.C., where she has been offering her expertise since 1983. Her practice encompasses copyright law, VARA, copyright litigation, and trademark registration, representing artists, galleries, and corporations both nationally and internationally.

In addition to her legal practice, Elston serves as an adjunct professor of law and society at the City University of New York, where she has been teaching since 2013. Her lectures and publications have significantly contributed to the field, particularly in areas related to copyright law and artists’ rights.

Elston’s passion for art is deeply personal and extends beyond the courtroom. She ran an art gallery in NYC in the 1980s and later, a cultural space in San Francisco. Driven to support artist activity, Elston believes art communicates our values, fostering a more cohesive, inclusive, and open-minded society. She sees art as linked to social justice, with the power to raise consciousness and promote ethical treatment of people in need, such as immigrants or marginalized communities.

Her commitment to the arts is further demonstrated through her roles as a Trustee for the Headlands Center for the Arts, a founding board member of White Box, an alternative cultural space in New York City, and as the founder of ReCreate, a nonprofit organization supporting artist in residency programming. She has served on the non-profit board of Faith Ringgold’s Anyone Can Fly Foundation. She currently serves on the following non-profit Boards: The Emily Harvey Foundation, supporting artists in Venice, Italy; and, The Robert D. Bielecki Foundation supporting artists and musicians and The San Francisco Archive and Legacy Foundation.