"Eyes on Judges"

In Brief

• The Other Adam and Eve: WWII-Looted 16th-Century Artwork Reclaims its Roots with Goudstikker Heir

  A 16th-century painting depicting Adam and Eve, looted from Dutch-Jewish art dealer Jacques Goudstikker during WWII, has been returned to his only living heir, Marei von Saher. The artwork, attributed to Dutch artist Cornelis van Haarlem, resurfaced when a private collector offered it for donation to Musée Rolin in France. The museum flagged the painting’s ownership record, leading to its return. The donors of the painting, whose identities remain confidential, were reportedly unaware of its questionable ownership history. Upon internal research, the French museum officials contacted Marei von Saher to inform her about the painting’s reappearance from a private collection. The specific date of the museum’s message to Von Saher has not been disclosed, and the insurance value of the Cornelis van Haarlem work remains undisclosed as well. This successful restitution is among the few that Goudstikker’s surviving relatives have secured. Notably, last year, the German city of Trier returned a 17th-century Dutch painting by Adam van Breen titled “Ice Skating” to Von Saher following a legal claim. In 2019, Von Saher attempted to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court for the return of two paintings by Lucas Cranach the Elder held by the Norton Simon Museum, but the court declined to take up the case. The Goudstikker Art Research Project, overseeing restitution claims related to Goudstikker’s property, is actively seeking the return of the remaining 800 works that were illegally exported from Amsterdam to Germany by Nazi officials. It’s a continued effort to rectify the historical injustices inflicted upon Goudstikker’s art holdings during one of the darkest periods in history. Read more here.

• U.S. Returns $3.7 Million Worth of Stolen Artifacts to Greece in Repatriation Ceremony

  In a ceremony held on December 15, the United States returned 30 valuable artifacts, including a Corinthian helmet and a marble statue of Aphrodite, to Greece. The pieces, collectively valued at $3.7 million, were recovered by Homeland Security Investigations and the Manhattan District Attorney’s office. Notably, 19 items were voluntarily surrendered by New York gallery owner Michael Ward, three were seized from British art dealer Robin Symes, and the remaining eight are in the possession of investigators awaiting details on their origin. Greek officials emphasized the cultural significance of repatriating these artifacts, stressing the importance of preserving a nation’s history. Read more here.

• A Gift of Law & Order at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

  Renowned “Law & Order” creator Dick Wolf  pledged a generous gift of more than 200 artworks, including paintings, sculptures, and drawings, to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The collection focuses on Renaissance and Baroque art, with recent acquisitions, such as a 15th-century Botticelli and a 16th-century Orazio Gentileschi painting. Wolf’s substantial monetary donation will endow two galleries in his name, marking a significant contribution to the museum’s collection. Read more here.

• Metropolitan Museum of Art Returns 13 Khmer Antiquities Linked to Notorious Art Dealer

  The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, in collaboration with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), has announced the  return of 13 Khmer antiquities to the Kingdom of Cambodia. The Metropolitan Museum of Art (the “Met”) agreed to return the artifacts, all associated with art dealer Douglas Latchford, indicted in 2019 for selling looted Cambodian antiquities. The repatriation follows a decade long investigation, recovering stolen Cambodian artifacts in the U.S. The returned statues include pieces from the Koh Ker archaeological site, with notable examples like a 10th-century goddess sandstone statue. The history of Koh Ker and the illicit trafficking of Cambodian cultural heritage is detailed in prior forfeiture actions, highlighting the significance of the repatriation effort. Read more here. 

• Monitoring Cultural Heritage Damage in Ukraine

  A new Smithsonian report outlines the potential damage to cultural heritage sites in Ukraine between February 24, 2022, and July 31, 2023. According to the report, a total of 1,812 sites, representing approximately 6.3% of those monitored, have been identified as potentially damaged. This list contains 6 times more sites than the UNESCO list. The study, conducted by the Virginia Museum of Natural History’s Cultural Heritage Monitoring Lab (CHML), the Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative (SCRI), and the University of Maryland’s Center for International Development and Conflict Management (CIDCM), focuses on damage to Mariupolskyi, Kharkivskyi, Sievierodonetskyi, Kramatorskyi, and Buchanskyi, with “Memorial/Monument” and “Place of Worship & Burial” sites being the most vulnerable. The analysis employs remote sensing technologies and social media monitoring to identify potential damage, emphasizing the urgency of protecting cultural heritage during armed conflicts. Read more here.

• Getty Trust Retains Bassano Painting Amidst Italian Export License Dispute

  Italy’s highest administrative court, the Council of State, ruled in favor of the J. Paul Getty Trust and Alex Postiglione in a legal dispute over the export of a painting by Jacopo Bassano from Italy in 2018. The court rejected the Italian culture ministry’s decision to annul the export license and order the repatriation of the artwork, emphasizing its “exceptional” importance for Italian cultural heritage. The ministry alleged that the Getty Trust’s 2021 purchase of the painting in New York relied on false information provided in the export license issued almost four years earlier. However, the Council of State dismissed these claims, declaring the annulment illegitimate. The court highlighted that there were no false declarations in Postiglione’s original application, and any errors in undervaluing the painting were made by the licensing committee experts themselves. Read more here.

• Argentina's Cultural Shift: President Milei's Ministry Shuffle Sparks Controversy

  Following his recent inauguration, President Javier Milei, a right-wing libertarian, fulfilled his campaign promise by closing Argentina’s Ministry of Culture. The MinCult budget and functions are to be incorporated into a new Ministry of Health and Human Capital, combining several former ministries. Headed by Milei loyalist Sandra Pettovello, a former television producer, the move has stirred controversy. Despite winning 56% of the vote in November, Milei’s private ministerial appointment ceremony, breaking a four-decade tradition of televised events, adds to the growing debate over his government’s approach. Read more here.

• Elevating Cultural Heritage Protection: EU Report Proposes Unified Framework and Agency

  A new report presented to the European Parliament, authored and edited by Dr. Evelien Campfens, addresses the challenges of looted and contested art, emphasizing the fragmented legal framework and the lack of traceability for cultural objects. Campfens recommends the establishment of an EU agency with roles including central registration of artworks, mediation in disputes, and fostering provenance research. The report advocates for a unified approach to combat looting and illegal trafficking, proposing practical steps to enhance transparency and streamline restitution processes. Campfens’ suggestions aim to bridge gaps in the current legal landscape and establish a comprehensive system for the protection of cultural heritage within the European Union. Read more here. 

• Jeff Koons' Legal Battle Over 'Serpents'

  A legal dispute involving artist Jeff Koons revolves around his artwork “Serpents,” commissioned in 1988, which the artist later disowned, labeling it an “imperfect prototype” unauthorized for marketing. The conflict arose when the owner sought compensation after Koons rejected paternity and authenticity. The Court of Cassation ruled against Koons, emphasizing limitations to the artist’s moral right to disown a work, stressing the necessity of prior acknowledgment of authorship. The court also underscored the challenge of impeding the circulation of a work once published with the artist’s consent. The case raises queries about an artist’s authority to disown a work and the intricacies of authorship in the contemporary art market. The case revolves around questions about an artist’s right to disavow a work and the complexities of authorship in the contemporary art market. Read more here.

• Art Activism in Response to Tragedy: Zoya Cherkassky's '7 October 2023' Series at the Jewish Museum 

  Following the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, artist Zoya Cherkassky responded with a powerful series titled “7 October 2023,” addressing the tragic events through 12 mixed-media works on paper. The series is currently exhibited at the Jewish Museum in New York as part of its initiative to explore how artists engage with conflict and war. This swift exhibition, initiated by the museum’s new director James Snyder, aims to provide a cultural perspective on the recent events in the Middle East. Described as “art activism,” Cherkassky’s work offers a poignant reflection on the impact of the attack, contributing to the ongoing discourse surrounding the war. Read more here.

• AI-collaborated Art: Copyright Denied…Again

  The US Copyright Office’s Review Board has upheld the denial to register a 2D work, rendering the applicant’s photograph in the style of Van Gogh’s Starry Night, due to a lack of human authorship. The applicant,  Ankit Sahni, claimed authorship of the underlying photograph, while attributing the 2D work’s creation to an AI app named RAGHAV. The Board concluded the work lacks human authorship as Sahni provided inputs to RAGHAV, and the expressive elements were not contributed by him. Characterization of RAGHAV as an “assistive tool” akin to a camera was rejected, emphasizing RAGHAV’s active role in generating the pictorial image. Aesthetic choices such as image inputs and filter strength were deemed unprotectable ideas, not constituting human authorship. Read more here.

• EU: Governing Algorithmic Contracts

  The European Law Institute is working on a project and providing guiding principles and model rules on algorithmic contracts The project explores the increasing integration of algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI) in all aspects of contract processes, from formation to execution. The prevalence of algorithmic decision-making (ADM) raises significant legal challenges, leading to academic discussions, court rulings, and ongoing investigations by policymakers globally. Recognizing the necessity of legal certainty in navigating ADM within contract life cycles, the project focuses on providing guidance for stakeholders and establishing a clear legal framework for automated and autonomous contracting in Europe. It aims to formulate principles for ADM in contractual relationships, covering automated/autonomous contracting across transaction types. Read more here.

• Under fire: The Eskenazi Museum of Art of the Indiana University Cancels Samia Halaby Exhibition

  The Eskenazi Museum canceled a retrospective of a Palestinian artist citing security concerns and has been under pressure for reinstating the show. Samia Halaby is an alumna of the Indiana University, where she also taught. According to The Art Newspaper, “The cancellation of Halaby’s exhibition comes amid heightened sensitivities around the art world and beyond brought on by the Israel-Hamas war, and as antisemitic, anti-Arab and Islamophobic incidents surge.”