"A Class of Its Own"

What's New in Art Law

• [Art in NYC] MoMA Exhibit of Ruth Asawa Closes this Month
  As MoMA closes it’s Ruth Asawa retrospective this month, we would like to complement the curators and thank one of our Advisors, Maureen McGovern for making it possible for us to have a guided tour of the show. Did you know that Ruth, a Japanese-American artist was interned with her family during WWII in the Japanese-Concentration camps? Did you know that she went on to become one of the most successful contemporary artists, with mixed media portfolio and a patent for her inventive work? She has been an inspiration to her contemporaries and will remain for generations to come. (with some photos from the exhibition and the patent) See here.

• [THEFT] Chile’s Cultural Heritage Service Aims to Recover Stolen Liturgical Objects from Landmarked Cathedral

  Chile’s National Cultural Heritage Service (SERPAT) has issued an international alert following the theft of several precious liturgical objects from the Metropolitan Cathedral of Santiago, a national historical site since 1951. The stolen items, including a silver candelabra and a relic holder, hold historical, ritual, and cultural significance and date back to the 18th century. Proper inventorying and documentation of the objects enabled authorities to rapidly activate international heritage protection mechanisms. Read more here, and see the UNESCO statement  here. [JKL] 

• [THEFT] Member of Early 2000s Museum Theft Ring Sentenced

  Between 1999 and 2019, an eight-person theft ring targeted twenty institutions, stealing art and cultural property of significant value. Among the most notable losses were works by Andy Warhol and Jackson Pollock, as well as nine World Series championship rings. On January 13, Joseph Astus, one of the ring’s members, was sentenced to 48 months in prison, followed by a term of supervised release, and ordered to pay $1 million in restitution. The sentencing judge reduced Astus’s term in light of his role caring for his 11-year-old autistic son. Other members of the ring received sentences ranging from 6 to 108 months of imprisonment. Read more here. [LS]

• [THEFT] Entire Collection of Antique Silver Stolen from Silver Museum in Doesburg, The Netherlands

  On the night of the 20th to the 21st of January, two men broke into the Silver Museum in Doesburg and stole the entire collection of antique silver housed in its location at the Martinikerk in Doesburg, in the East of the Netherlands. The collection, made up of over 300 mustardpots, spoons and other objects, was housed alongside a collection of ceramics that did not get stolen. The price of silver has risen significantly in the past few months, and this is cited as the reason the museum’s collection was targeted by thieves. No one has been detained yet in connection with the theft, and there are no leads as to the location of the stolen silverware. Read more here. [SW]

• [MUSEUM, LABOR] Metropolitan Museum of Art Employees Vote to Unionize

  In mid-January, hundreds of workers at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the Met) voted to unionize. By a margin of 542 to 172, employees voted to join Local 2110 of the United Automobile Workers, a union that represents more than 3,000 workers across museums, publishing, universities, and other sectors through approximately 30 contracts. Local 2110’s membership includes employees of the Guggenheim, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Whitney Museum. Other Met employees, including security guards, are already represented by two other unions. Read more here. [LS]

• [ART MARKET] Galerie Kraemer to Refund €2.8m Purchase Following Disputed Date of Chinese Vase

  The Paris Court of Appeal has ordered Galerie Kraemer to repay €2.8 million for a vase sold to Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al Thani, following an eight-year legal dispute over the date of the vase. The porcelain and gilded vase was sold to Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al Thani, a cousin of the Emir of Qatar, in 2012 at the Paris Biennale des Antiquaires by Galerie Kraemer. After the gallery became embroiled in several fake furniture scandals, Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al Thani had the vase examined by experts, who concluded that it was likely from the 19th century. In 2022, the court commissioned an analysis by the French Museums Laboratory, which found that the vase was produced using techniques developed only in the 1840s and showed signs of “artificial aging” on some of the metalwork. On this basis, the Paris court annulled the sale and ordered Galerie Kraemer to repay the full purchase price. The gallery has stated that it will appeal the decision. Read more here. [SW]

• [RESTITUTION] Inventory of Ghanaian Objects in Dutch Collections Marks Step Towards Repatriation

  The Ghanaian delegation in Accra has received an inventory of Ghanaian objects held in Dutch collections, compiled by the Wereldmuseum in Leiden. During high-level bilateral talks, the Kingdom of the Netherlands’ delegation, led by Ambassador Jeroen Verheul, handed over both digital and physical inventories of Ghanaian artefacts held in Dutch collections to Ghana’s Minister for Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Abla Dzifa Gomashie. This collaboration sets the course for further UNESCO-supported efforts toward historical justice through bilateral agreements, strengthening prospects for future restitution and preservation initiatives in Ghana. It also aligns with the broader restitution agendas of both the Netherlands and Ghana. Ambassador Verheul reaffirmed the Netherlands’ commitment to returning cultural objects acquired through force or coercion. Ghana’s broader repatriation efforts align with the African Union’s Special Envoy on Reparations, led by President John Dramani Mahama, and parallel formal repatriation requests from other African countries, including Nigeria, Benin, Ethiopia, and Senegal. Read the full story here.

• [DEACCESSION] The Met Opera May Sell Two Marc Chagall Murals to Address Financial Shortfall

  The Metropolitan Opera in New York may sell two Marc Chagall murals, unveiled in 1966 and displayed in the building’s Grand Tier, as it seeks to address a significant financial shortfall. Sotheby’s has valued the works at $55 million. Despite a potential sale, the murals would remain in place. The Met is also considering selling naming rights to its theater. Read more here. [MR]

• [COPYRIGHT] The Similarity Test Used in Copyright Infringement Cases Comes Under Scrutiny in a New Case Involving Famous Tattoo Artist

  The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld a jury verdict which found that a tattoo created by the celebrity artist Kat Von D did not infringe a photograph of jazz musician Miles Davis, used to trace the tattoo, as the works were not sufficiently alike to be infringing. Two judges, however, issued a rare plea for the circuit to eliminate the two-pronged test used by courts in the circuit when determining whether works are substantially similar. It is the second part of the test, the Intrinsic Test, which the concurring judges argue to be contradictory to federal copyright law by focusing on the general public’s impression of the works and not on the actual works of the creators. Read more here. [MR] 

• [ARTIST NEWS] The World Economic Forum in Davos Gets a Visit From Marina Abramović

  Marina Abramović showed a new work entitled THE BUS at this year’s World Economic Forum (WEF). The work invites participants at the WEF to take a step away from the forum’s high-intensity schedule as a proposed intervention and digital detox. Done in collaboration with Mirjam Varadinis, curator at the Kunsthaus in Zürich, the stated purpose of the work is to go beyond museum walls, to find common ground in joining the dialogue of peace in today’s world climate, and to extend beyond the art world – in this case, world leaders. After the WEF, THE BUS will move from Davos to Zürich, in collaboration with the University of Zürich, to showcase the work as a transformative tool in the field of education and mental health. Read more here. [MR] 

• [MUSEUM GOVERNANCE] Madrid’s Famed Prado Museum Tackles New Dynamics in Visitor Experiences and its Preservation

  Home to some of the world’s most famous works of art including Diego Velázquesz’s Las Meninas, the Prado Museum in Madrid has made public at a press conference that they have reached their threshold of 3.5 million visitors last year. The museum and its director, Miguel Falomir, are in discussion of how best to preserve visitor experiences and avoid the museum’s success collapsing – comparing it in public statements to the current overcrowded visitations at the Louvre in Paris. Optimization of entrances, decreasing visiting groups, disallowance of photos in galleries, are all in discussion. Read more here. [MR]

• [TRUMP ADMINISTRATION] National Endowment for the Humanities Awards Grants Again

  The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has awarded grants for the first time since President Donald Trump fired most members of the National Council on the Humanities. The NEH plans to grant a total of $75.1 million to 84 projects. The grants range from smaller amounts such as $60,000 to a scholar studying Johann Joachim Winckelmann, to $10 million awarded to the University of Texas at Austin for programming related to academic majors in “Strategy and Statecraft and Great Books.” The majority of the funds were awarded to projects that celebrate America 250. Other awards include $2 million to the Abigail Adams Institute, $2.2 million to the Philadelphia Museum of the American Revolution, and $2 million to the Grand Central Atelier. Read more here. [LS]

• [TRUMP ADMINISTRATION] ICCROM and IFACCA Among the Latest International Cultural Organizations US Quits

  In a memorandum released on the 7th of February, Trump has announced he is pulling out of over 60 international groups, treaties and alliances dedicated to cultural property preservation and global cooperation relating to the arts. Among the organisations he is pulling out are the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) and the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies (IFACCA), stating they run “contrary to the interests of the United States”, and that he will be diverting US taxpayer funding away from “entities that advance globalist agendas over US priorities”. Read more here. [SW]

• [TRUMP ADMINISTRATION] Groups Fights to Prevent Sale of Wilbur J. Cohen Federal Building

  President Trump is currently seeking to auction four federal buildings to private developers. Among them is the Wilbur J. Cohen Federal Building, a block-long office complex that houses the headquarters of the Social Security Administration and offices for Voice of America. Designated a historic landmark in 1978, the building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and contains artworks by Ben Shahn, Philip Guston, and Seymour Fogel. Alex Lawson, executive director of Social Security Works, an advocacy organization, co-authored a petition to preserve the artworks alongside muralist Absurdly Well. Read more here. [LS]

• [CULTURAL HERITAGE CRIME, RUSSIA–UKRAINE WAR] Russian Archaeologist Detained in Poland Over Illegal Excavations in Crimea

  Russian archaeologist Alexander B., head of Ancient Archaeology of the Northern Black Sea at the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, has been arrested in Poland. He is sought by Ukrainian authorities for conducting illegal excavations at the ancient Greek colony of Myrmekion, in Kerch, Crimea, between 2014, shortly after Russia’s temporary occupation of the territory, and 2019. The Ukrainian Prosecutor’s Office states that he partially destroyed the archaeological site, searched for movable objects, and carried out unlawful excavations, estimating the damage at $4.77 million. Extradition proceedings are underway to have him tried in Ukraine. Read more here. [SW]

• [NAZI-ERA ART LOOTING] Fragment of Bayeux Tapestry Taken by Nazi-Era Specialist Returned to France

  A small fragment of the Bayeux Tapestry, discovered in the state archives of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, in 2023, has been returned to France. The fragment was taken by German textile specialist Karl Schlabow, likely during a research trip to Nazi-occupied France, where the tapestry was studied in support of Germany’s so-called “ancestral heritage” and the racist and antisemitic cultural agendas of the Third Reich. The piece was identified by archive staff during an inventory of Schlabow’s collection and was presented to the Mayor of Bayeux by the archive’s director, Rainer Hering. The fabric fragment was found mounted on a glass plate and was likely sampled from the underside of the tapestry. Read more here. [SW]

• [FREE SPEECH] South African Artist Gabrielle Goliath Challenges the Constitutional Validity of the Cancellation of Her Venice Biennale Pavilion

  Each year, one artist is selected to represent each country’s national pavilion at the Venice Biennale. In 2026, artist Gabrielle Goliath and curator Ingrid Masondo were selected to represent South Africa. Goliath’s performance, Elegy, addresses genocide in Namibia, femicide, the repression of queer communities in South Africa, and the Palestinian conflict. Gayton McKenzie, South Africa’s Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, described the work as “highly divisive” and canceled the pavilion. Goliath and Masondo have since filed a lawsuit in the South African High Court challenging the constitutionality of the decision. Read more here. [AK]

• [MUSEUMS, LABOR] Uffizi Gallery Announces Mass Layoffs of Part-Time Contractors Following Service Contract Changes

  In September 2025, the Uffizi Gallery decided to change its service management contractor. Under the agreement, permanent employees were guaranteed continued employment, but no such assurances were provided for temporary staff. As a result, many part-time workers were laid off earlier this year. On January 4, former and current museum employees demonstrated in the Uffizi courtyard, denouncing their precarious employment conditions. Many of the affected workers had been employed at the gallery for nearly, or in some cases more than, ten years, raising questions about the practical distinction between permanent and temporary employment. Read more here. [AK]

• [IMMIGRATION] Minneapolis Art Organizations Participate in Strike Against ICE Activities

  On January 23, a general strike took place in Minneapolis following events involving ICE agent Jonathan Ross, who shot and killed Renee Good on January 7. The strike brought together local businesses and organizations, including major art institutions such as the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the Walker Art Center, and the Minnesota Museum of American Art, as well as smaller arts organizations including the Minnesota Center for Book Arts, Forecast Public Art, and the Dreamsong Gallery. By joining the strike, these art organizations sought to show solidarity with immigrant neighbors and condemn ICE operations. Read more here. [AK]

• [ART MARKET] Art Basel Qatar Launches

  Art Basel Qatar opens in Doha on Tuesday, February 3, and will open to the public from Thursday, February 5, to Saturday, February 7. This is Doha’s first art fair. With 87 exhibitors from across the world, this art fair looks to focus attention on the Persian Gulf region and away from the established, oversaturated markets in the United States and Europe. The push to shift focus also comes as the art market experiences a two-year slump, and the Gulf region has become an international hotspot for wealthy people–and potentially new equally wealthy collectors. David Zwirner New York will be exhibiting at the fair, where he hopes “top galleries can congregate and bring their art to the region.” Read more here. [DJ]