"Beware of March"

What's New in Art Law

• [MUSEUM FUNDING] New Jersey Mayor Pulls Funding for What Would Have Been France’s First North American Centre Pompidou Satellite Museum

  The first North American satellite museum of the Centre Pompidou, Paris, was expected to open in Jersey City, New Jersey. However, following an announcement on 11 February 2026 by the city’s mayor, funding has been terminated and the project will no longer move forward. First announced in 2021, the Centre Pompidou x Jersey City project had been years in the making. Faced with political opposition, lawmakers expressed concerns about taxpayer costs (an estimated $58 million of the overall $200 million budget), contributing to the start of the project’s unraveling. Read more here. [MR]

• [MUSEUMS] Corruption at Nanjing Museum

  In September 2025, China’s Nanjing Museum faced allegations that it had sold paintings originally donated to its collection. Authorities launched an investigation after discovering that five works were missing from a group donated by the family of noted collector Pang Laichen. News of the loss drew national attention in December and led investigators to examine 65,000 archival records and conduct more than 1,000 interviews. According to the official report, the vice-director of the museum, beginning in the 1990s, authorized the transfer of the paintings to a state-run relics store for sale. Read more here. [LS]

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Ancient Tomb Found in Mexico

  In San Pablo Huitzo, Oaxaca, archaeologists recently uncovered a 1,400-year-old Zapotec burial site following an anonymous report of looting. Known as Tomb 10, the structure is the second-largest tomb discovered in Mexico to date. It features striking decorative elements, including an owl, male and female figures, and copal. Tombs throughout the Etla Valley, where Tomb 10 is located, are often adorned with imagery of jaguars, lizards, and serpents. Although pottery, a common funerary offering, was found inside, the tomb’s distinctive stepped-vault construction sets it apart architecturally. Mexico’s cultural minister, Claudia Curiel, has indicated that the site may open to the public by the end of 2026, though ongoing restoration efforts could delay that timeline. Read more here. [LS]

• [ART MARKET] Record Prices Reached for Old Masters at New York Auction

  New records were set at New York auctions for Old Master artists including Artemisia Gentileschi, Michelangelo, and Rembrandt. A record price was reached on 4 February 2026 at Christie’s Old Masters auction, which ended the day at $54.3 million, the highest total for a New York Old Masters sale in over a decade. The artist records for Artemisia Gentileschi and Canaletto were both surpassed. Two further records were broken that week: the highest-priced sale for a Michelangelo drawing and for a Rembrandt sold at auction. A rare Hebrew illuminated manuscript, the Rothschild Vienna Mahzor, was also sold for a record $6.4 million at Sotheby’s. The manuscript was restituted to the Rothschild family after the Austrian government voluntarily returned the Mahzor last year, in 2025, following research into its NS-Raubkunst provenance. Read more here. [MR]

• [AUCTION HOUSES] Bonhams New Flagship Location in New York Opens Its Doors

  The auction house Bonhams opened its new flagship location in New York in February 2026 at 111 West 57th Street. The iconic building, known for its Steinway history, is being used by the auction house as a crossover space for auction previews and exhibitions. The Cuban art exhibition currently on view, Modern Cuban Painters from Havana to New York, revisits MoMA’s 1994 exhibition that introduced Cuban modernism to the United States, showcasing Bonhams’ ambition to present art historical scholarship alongside its sales. Read more here. [MR]

• [NAZI-ERA LOOTING] Metropolitan Museum of Art Being Sued over Disputed Pissarro over Claims of Nazi-Era Sale under Duress

  The heirs of Max Braunthal are suing the Metropolitan Museum of Art over ownership of the painting Haystacks, Morning, Éragny by Camille Pissarro, which the Met has held in its collection for over two decades. The heirs argue that Braunthal was forced to sell his assets under duress in 1941 after his property was seized by the Nazis following the occupation of France. Braunthal’s heirs, represented by Melina Wolman, cite French law stating that all sales of art made under the Nazis by Jews in extreme distress are null and void. The Met has defended its possession of the painting, stating that the original transaction was legitimate and that Braunthal received fair market value at the time. If the Paris civil court rules in the heirs’ favor and nullifies the 1941 sale, the Met would not be bound by the ruling, and Braunthal’s heirs would need to file suit in the United States. The Met has three to six months to respond to the lawsuit. Read more here. [SW]

• [NAZI-ERA LOOTING] Yale Returns 12th Century Manuscript Looted During WW2 to Poland

  The Collectarium of Ląd, a 12th-century Latin liturgical book, has been returned to Poland after being found in the collections of Yale University. The book, originally belonging to the Cistercian abbey in the village of Ląd, disappeared from the Archdiocesan Archive during Poland’s Nazi-occupation in 1939. Poland submitted a formal restitution request in 2024, after which the FBI’s Art Crime Team, Yale researchers and Polish authorities collaborated to confirm the book’s provenance. At a ceremony marking the return of the manuscript to Poland, Poland’s Culture Minister Marta Cienkowska praised the Yale Library’s professionalism and collaboration with the restitution efforts. She further discussed Poland’s ongoing efforts to recover hundreds of thousands of cultural artefacts looted during World War 2. Read more here. [SW]

• [WW2] Drawings of Internment at Theresienstadt Ghetto by Jewish Artist Peter Kien Rehoused in Wiener Holocaust Library, London

  After a generations-long struggle with the Czech government, hundreds of works by the artist and poet Peter Kien have been rehoused in London’s Wiener Holocaust Library. Kien, a Jewish artist and poet, gave a suitcase filled with drawings, love letters, and poems recounting life in the Theresienstadt ghetto between 1941 and 1944 to his lover, Hega Wolfenstein. She hid it in the ghetto’s infectious diseases ward after Kien was transported to Auschwitz along with the rest of his family and murdered. After the war, Wolfenstein left the suitcase with her aunt in Czechoslovakia, where it was confiscated by authorities. After 1989, the suitcase and its contents were displayed in the Theresienstadt Memorial Museum and considered a national treasure. Following a decades-long effort by Wolfenstein and her daughter, Judy King, to establish provenance, the suitcase has finally been transferred to London, where King has donated it to the Wiener Holocaust Library. Read more here. [SW]

• [RESTITUTION] Cambridge University Transfers Ownership of 116 Benin Bronzes to Nigeria

  The University of Cambridge’s Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology (MAA) has handed over legal title of 116 Benin Bronzes looted in the British attack and sacking of Benin City in 1897 to Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM). A formal request for the transfer was made by the NCMM in 2022, and after this official transfer of legal ownership in 2026, physical transfer of the artefacts to Nigeria still needs to be arranged. Seventeen pieces will remain on display at the MAA on loan from the NCMM. Olugbile Holloway, director-general of the NCMM, hopes that this decision from the MAA will spur a “domino effect” of other institutions restituting Benin Bronzes to Nigeria, including the British Museum. Read more here. [SW]

• [RESTITUTION] Smithsonian Returns Sculptures to India

  In 2023, researchers at the National Museum of Asian Art (NMAA), part of the Smithsonian Institution, determined that three bronze statues in the museum’s collection had been installed in temples in Tamil Nadu as recently as the late 1950s. After reviewing archival photographs, India’s Archaeological Survey concluded that the sculptures had been unlawfully removed. In January, the NMAA announced that two of the statues would be formally repatriated to India, while the third would remain at the museum on a long-term loan. Two of the bronzes date to the Chola period, with the third originating from the Vijayanagar period. Read more here. [LS]

• [ART CRIME] MAN SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR STEALING FROM THE LEWIS AND CLARK INTERPRETIVE CENTER

  Roger Edward Hawkes pleaded guilty to one count of removing archaeological resources.  On September 14, 2024, Hawkes stole two weapons from the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center.  These items included a pistol and a sheath.  An investigation ensued, conducted by the Great Falls Police Department, United States Forest Service, and FBI Art Crime Team/FBI Billings Division.  In February 2026, Hawkes was sentenced to 9 months in prison.   Read more here.  [HO]

• [ART MARKET] GROSSMAN LLP’S WIN

  In February 2026, the Court entered a Memorandum Decision and Order denying Athena Art Finance’s Motion for Reconsideration. The Court ordered, adjudged, and decreed that the declaratory judgment is entered that Satfinance has full legal title to the Basquiat painting and Athena has no rights or interest in the work, and that the remaining claims by Satfinance and Delahunty remain pending. Grossman LLP represented Satfinance Investment Ltd in connection with this dispute over a Basquiat painting. Art dealer Inigo Philbrick fraudulently used the work as collateral to obtain a loan. Grossman LLP shared: “This decision reaffirms the simple principle we advanced on behalf of our client from the outset: a borrower cannot mortgage someone else’s property.  And we are pleased that after years of litigation, this important painting will now be headed back to our client.”  Read more here. [HO]

• [CULTURAL HERITAGE] MOUNT HOLYOKE FILES INTENTION TO REPATRIATE

  The Mount Holyoke College Art Museum in South Hadley, MA, published a formal Notice of Intended Repatriation.  Published by the National Park Service the notice shares that repatriation of the cultural items may occur on or after March 13, 2026.  This repatriation effort is in accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (“NAGPRA.”). Read more here. [HO]

• [ART FRAUD] Gerard Lhéritier, Founder of Aristophil, Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison for Fraud and Misleading Commercial Practices.

  On December 11, 2025, Gérard Lhéritier, founder of a company that sold investment funds in ancient manuscripts and rare letters, was sentenced by the Paris criminal court to 5 years for “fraud” and “misleading commercial practices.” The manuscripts and rare letters sold by Aristophile were presented as safe and profitable investments. However, their value had been overestimated from the start, sometimes by 90%. Additionally, the promising returns paid to the first subscribers were actually financed by subsequent investors’ contributions, a scheme the judge described as a “Ponzi scheme.” This decision was long awaited (10 years), as about 8,000 savers filed complaints, totaling an estimated loss of over one billion euros. Among the plaintiffs were individuals who invested their entire retirement savings, and ended up being scammed. The victims are still awaiting concrete compensation, as many struggle with their financial situation. Gérard Lhéritier, meanwhile, can still appeal the judgment. Read more here. [AK]

• [RESTITUTION] Two Colonial Codices Exchanged between France and Mexico Open the Door to Restitution

  Two colonial-era codices, the Codex Azcatitlán, located at the Bibliothèque nationale de France since 1898, and the Codex Boturini, held at Mexico’s Biblioteca Nacional de Antropología e Historia, are planned to be the object of a loan between France and Mexico. During French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Mexico with Claudia Sheinbaum, both Presidents agreed to this cultural exchange of the two codices, which depict the Mexica migration from Aztlán to Tenochtitlan in the 16th century and the beginning of the Spanish conquest. These codices have great value for Mexico, and the country has therefore made great efforts to repatriate similar works. For example, in 2020, Mexico asked the Vatican to restitute the Codex Borgia and the Codex Vaticanus, but the Vatican chose instead to donate facsimiles. Claudia Sheinbaum reaffirmed Mexico’s strong interest in the restitution of these codices. The loan granted by France represents a positive step for the restitution movement, especially as France is currently seeking to pass legislation about restitution. Read more here. [AK]

• [CULTURAL HERITAGE] Cancellation of Trump Hotel Plans at Belgrade’s Generalštab, a Yugoslav Modernist Landmark

  After senior cultural officials, including Nikola Selaković and Slavica Jelača, were indicted for abuse of office and falsifying an official document, plans to redevelop Belgrade’s Generalštab complex into a luxury project featuring a Trump International Hotel have been canceled. The company affiliated with Jared Kushner, son-in-law of Donald Trump, withdrew following the indictments. The project was already controversial, the Generalštab, a landmark of Yugoslav Modernism heavily bombed during the Kosovo War by Nato, holds protected status. To move forward, the Serbian government had sought to remove the site from the heritage list after signing an agreement with Kushner’s firm two years ago. The case drew international attention, particularly from International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), which issued a heritage alert, as it raised concerns about setting a precedent for overriding protected status. Read more here. [AK]

• [CULTURAL HERITAGE] Denmark, the Netherlands, and the UK Pledged Support to the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Fund

  As Ukraine’s war enters its fifth year, Denmark, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom have decided to contribute to the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Fund, created in response to the destruction of 1,630 cultural heritage sites and 2,437 cultural infrastructure facilities across the country. The fund, backed by international cultural organizations, aims to preserve, restore, and sustain Ukraine’s cultural heritage. These contributions are particularly significant as most international aid continues to focus on urgent humanitarian needs, making funding for heritage protection more difficult to secure. Restoration efforts are further complicated by ongoing instability in regions such as Odessa, where active conflict continues to threaten cultural sites. Read more here. [AK]

• [TRUMP ADMINISTRATION] The City of Philadelphia Fights Back Against National Park Service’s Removal of Slavery Memorial

  On January 22, the US National Park Service removed an exhibit titled “The Dirty Business of Slavery” from the President’s House in Philadelphia, which also served as a memorial dedicated to the nine enslaved people who lived there.  When Philadelphia was the nation’s capital, the President’s House served as the residence for George Washington and John Adams.  While a resident, George Washington brought over eight enslaved people from his home in Mount Vernon.  When the President’s House opened as a museum in 2010, it featured the aforementioned exhibit, detailing the enslaved people’s roles on the property.  Fifteen years later, in 2025, President Trump signed an executive order, “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” directing federal agencies to remove any program which served to “inappropriately disparage Americans.”  This exhibit was among six exhibits at the President’s House flagged in violation of the order–particularly due to their inclusion of slavery-related material–and was initially slated for removal in September 2025.  As a result of this directive, the National Park Service removed what was, until very recently, the only federal historic site dedicated to memorializing this nation’s history with slavery.  The City filed suit on January 22 in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, seeking an injunction to have the exhibit reinstated.  In the complaint, the City claims that, under their agreements with the National Park Service, all disputes should be settled informally through communication or other “non-binding alternative dispute resolution that is mutually acceptable to the parties.”  The parties were in court on Friday, January 30, for a hearing on the City’s motion for a preliminary injunction and declaratory judgment, during which District Judge Cynthia Ruthe pressed Defendants’ counsel on whether further exhibit removals are planned to take place. Read more here and here. [DJ]

• [CULTURAL HERITAGE] Team Members of The Independent Commission for Historically Contaminated Cultural Heritage Are Announced

  The Swiss Federal Council announced on 28 January 2026, the newly appointed members of the independent Commission for Historically Contaminated Cultural Heritage. The Commission will be led by Simonetta Sommaruga with members ranging from experts in law, art, history, provenance research, and museum professions. The Commission is said to officially begin work on 1 March 2026, and will focus on Nazi-looted art and Colonial cultural assets. Recommendations from the Commission will be non-binding. Read more here. [MR]

• [COPYRIGHT] Federal Appeals Court Expands Termination Rights: Artists Can Now Reclaim Global Copyrights

  In a significant victory for songwriter rights, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled on January 12 that copyright termination rights—a provision allowing creators to reclaim works assigned decades earlier—apply globally, not just within the United States. The case involved songwriter Cyril Vetter, who sought to reclaim full worldwide control of his 1963 rock composition “Double Shot (Of My Baby’s Love)” from publisher Resnik Music Group. Previously, courts interpreted termination rights as limited to U.S. exploitation only, leaving international rights with original publishers. The Fifth Circuit rejected this approach, holding that when an author terminates a grant of rights “arising under” the Copyright Act, they recover the entire bundle of rights—including those exploited abroad. This reversal directly challenges decades-old industry practice and has immediate implications for catalog valuations, legacy agreements, and artists’ leverage in renegotiating contracts. The ruling reflects Congress’s original intent to address the unequal bargaining power faced by early-career artists who assigned their copyrights for minimal compensation. Read more here. [PM]

• [CULTURAL HERITAGE] International Heritage Crime Task Force Recovers 323 Artifacts in Major London Seizure

  The London Metropolitan Police’s Art and Antiques Unit, in collaboration with the Heritage Crime Task Force (HCTF) established by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, cataloged 323 seized antiquities in January, demonstrating the expanding capacity of international law enforcement to combat cultural property trafficking. Initial forensic analysis suggests pieces originating from the Khmer Empire (Cambodia), Gandhara region (Pakistan/Afghanistan), and Syria or Iraq, with some artifacts dating back to the Indus Valley civilization (3300-1300 BC). The HCTF, which became an official OSCE program in 2021, now operates with 80 officers from 46 countries and organizations, having seized over 3,400 objects valued at €150 million since inception. Training provided by the task force has proven instrumental in interdicting smuggling attempts—notably, Ukrainian border officers trained by the HCTF in early 2023 later intercepted 18 artworks destined for illegal export. However, experts identify persistent obstacles: museums often hesitate to report thefts due to reputational concerns, and EU Regulation 2019/880 (fully implemented June 2025) may redirect illicit trade to unregulated markets. Prosecutors face high evidentiary burdens proving “dishonesty and knowledge” of theft, making civil remedies potentially more effective than criminal prosecution. Read more here. [PM]

• [CULTURAL HERITAGE] A New Bill to Streamline Restitution of Cultural Heritage Property Gets Approved by The French Senate

  A draft legislation was unanimously approved by the French Senate on January 28, 2026, to simplify the return of colonial-era artefacts to their countries of origin. The bill reflects President Macron’s public stance on repairing past wrongs of France in Africa, with numerous artefacts still remaining in France today, by facilitating restitution claims through new legislation. The bill would change the previously lengthy process of requiring parliamentary approval by vote on each restitution, and instead, would involve the countries making the restitution requests themselves and a new committee that would base its decisions on clearly outlined scientific reviews of requests. The bill will next be sent to the National Assembly before it can become law. Read more here. [MR]

• [MUSEUM GOVERNANCE] The National Gallery Introduces ‘Voluntary Exit Scheme’ to Reduce Staff in Anticipation of a Projected $11.2 Million Budget Deficit

  The National Gallery, London, is projected to face a $11.2 million budget deficit in the 2026-2027 fiscal year due, in part, to rising operational costs, reductions in public spending, and weak visitor numbers in U.K. museums. In anticipation of the deficit, the museum has announced cost-saving measures which will include significantly reducing its staff and making changes to its programs. The staff cuts are expected to reduce the deficit by $3.5 million-$4 million. To achieve the above staff reductions, the museum has introduced a ‘voluntary exit scheme,’ which offers financial incentives to staff members who opt to leave – applications will be accepted until March 16, 2026. Read more here. [MR]

• [CULTURAL PROPERTY] Antiquities Dealer Gianfranco Becchina Retains Assets After Palermo Court of Appeal Overturns Confiscation Order

  Italy’s Palermo Court of Appeal has overturned a ruling ordering the confiscation of a significant portion of the movable, real estate, and corporate assets of antiquities dealer Gianfranco Becchina. Becchina has long been at the center of discussions surrounding the illicit antiquities trade and was convicted in 2011 by a court in Rome for selling illegally trafficked antiquities. Prosecutors also alleged ties between Becchina and the Messina Denaro crime family, claiming he laundered illegally excavated archaeological artifacts on their behalf, though those allegations were never proven. Read more about the decision here.

• [COPYRIGHT] The Supreme Court Declines to Grant Petition for Writ of Certiorari in Thaler v. Perlmutter

  On March 2, the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari in Thaler v. Perlmutter, leaving in place the D.C. Circuit’s ruling that works created solely by artificial intelligence are not eligible for copyright protection. The case arose after the U.S. Copyright Office rejected Stephen Thaler’s application to register an image generated by his AI system, the “Creativity Machine,” which he listed as the author. Thaler challenged the denial through multiple appeals, arguing that the requirement of human authorship was unconstitutional. Both the U.S. District Court and the D.C. Circuit affirmed the Copyright Office’s decision, holding that the Copyright Act requires works to be authored “in the first instance” by human beings. The D.C. Circuit also noted that the use of AI does not necessarily preclude copyright protection where there is sufficient human creative input, but declined to define the threshold. By denying certiorari, the Supreme Court allows the lower court’s decision to stand. Read more here and here. [DJ]