"Turning the Leaves"

What's New in Art Law

• [Art Research] Ancient Secret Revealed via 3D Scan

  In a research project conducted by the MET and the government of Iraq, researchers have discovered that Mesopotamia, located in present-day Afghanistan, may have been the first civilization to use lost wax casting for metalwork. To reach this conclusion, researchers made 3D scans of a metal vessel stand featuring a goat statuette, which confirmed that the statue is hollow and that the lost wax technique was used. During the study, it was determined that the vessel rightfully belongs in Iraq, and the piece has since been repatriated to the Iraq Museum in Baghdad. The MET first acquired the piece in 1955 from art dealer Elias S. David. Read more here.

• [Attribution and AI] Reigniting Caravaggio Attribution—With the Help of AI

  The authenticity dispute over a variation of The Lute Player, once thought to be a copy or painted by someone in Caravaggio’s circle, has been reignited in part due to an AI analysis, which attributed the painting to Caravaggio with 85.7% probability. Along with the AI analysis, several professionals have endorsed this reading and are pushing to have the work’s authenticity reconsidered. If the painting really is a Caravaggio, its value will skyrocket. A recent sale of Caravaggio’s Ecce Homo fetched €36 million euros at auction after its seemingly low reserve price of €1,500 euros. The Lute Player (unattributed at the time) last sold for £71,000, what might the price be if it’s really a Caravaggio? Read more here. [JG]

• [Repatriation] Twenty-nine Art Pieces Officially Repatriated from New York to Greece

  A panel of mosaics from Pompeii depicting two Roman lovers has been returned to the archaeological park following its disappearance in WWII. The mosaic was first stolen by a German Nazi captain stationed in Italy and was later gifted to a German citizen, who held the item until their passing. It was finally returned after the deceased’s heirs discovered they owned the object. Perhaps the mosaic was returned for superstitious reasons. Artifacts taken from Pompeii notoriously hold the “Pompeii curse,” and many stolen items are eventually returned. For example, in 2020, a Canadian tourist returned several stolen artifacts to Pompeii after experiencing bad luck with the pieces in their possession. Read more here.

• [Art Crime] Former Egyptian Doctor Sentenced for Smuggling Over 500 Ancient Artefacts Through JFK

  Ashraf Eldarir, aged 51, has recently been sentenced to six months in prison after over 500 ancient Egyptian artefacts were discovered in his suitcase at JFK International Airport. Among the found items were gold amulets, wooden figures, and masks from ancient Egyptian tombs. At security, he claimed that the items belonged to his grandfather and presented security with falsified provenance records. Eldarir was previously a medical doctor in Egypt, before he moved to the US and turned to the ludicrous art smuggling business. He has successfully smuggled and sold many artefacts from Egypt, one of which was even sold at the prestigious art auction house Christie’s. Another item made its way to the British Museum, which still displays Eldirar’s falsified provenance records. Read more here. [JG]

• [Money Laundering] Hong Kong’s Role in China’s Global Strategy

  Since 2019 pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong ended with the implementation of National Security Law, China has exercised increasing control over Hong Kong’s government and people. As a result of this control, China has been able to use the city’s government as a tool to help other countries launder money and evade sanctions. Previously known as a hotspot of major global commerce, Hong Kong now acts as a keystone to illicit weapons and technology trading with Russia, North Korea, and Iran, despite its pledge to follow U.N. and U.S. ordered sanctions. In response to Hong Kong’s increasingly lenient policies regarding sanction evasion, laundering, and smuggling, U.S. senators have introduced a bill to officially recognize Hong Kong as a place of Primary Money Laundering Concern. If recognized, this bill would make it harder for Hong Kong to access U.S. financial institutions and would require more due diligence on companies dealing with Hong Kong to ensure that they are not contributing to sanction evasion. Given its tense relations with the U.S. federal government, China has been attempting to influence U.S. officials at the state and city level, especially in the tech-rich area of San Francisco. There, China intends to bolster its own “Greater Bay Area of China” with U.S. developed tech so it may more easily incorporate its politically concerned problem child, Hong Kong, into the mainland. Read more here, here, here, and here. [JG]

• [Public Art] Legal Standoff Over San Francisco’s Vaillancourt Fountain

  The city of San Francisco expressed its intent to tear down one of its most polarizing landmarks, the Vaillancourt Fountain. However, 96-year-old Quebecois sculptor, Armand Vaillancourt, has commenced litigation in hopes of preserving his piece. The fountain has been a cultural landmark in San Francisco for 54 years, however, it is now fenced off and without running water. The city argues that renovating the fountain would cost $29 million, but Alexis Vaillancourt, the sculptor’s son, does not buy the city’s argument. He believes that restoration of the fountain is not only possible, but essential to “preserving a mark of a time and a movement that might not be totally understood today.” Read more here. [VD]

• [Museum Issues] The White House Targets “Objectionable” Smithsonian Exhibits

  The Trump administration is intent on redefining cultural narratives at major U.S. institutions. The White House recently published a list of Smithsonian exhibits, covering topics like sexuality, slavery and immigration, which it found “objectionable.” The list followed a letter sent to Lonnie G. Bunch III, the secretary of the Smithsonian, which set a 120-day deadline to remove exhibits that are “divisive or ideologically driven.” While the Smithsonian is an independent institution, it receives a majority of its funding from federal grants and government contracts. Critics argue that this is an unprecedented level of political pressure on the museum network. Read more here. [VD]

   

• [Trump Administration] Photograph of Former Enslaved Man Removed from National Monument

  The Trump administration reportedly removed “The Scourged Back,” an 1863 photograph of a formerly enslaved man, Peter, from Fort Pulaski National Monument in Chatham County, Georgia. The photograph depicts Peter with his back angled towards the camera, showcasing his scars from lashings. The removal follows a March Executive Order that ordered the Secretary of the Interior to ensure monuments in its jurisdiction do not disparage Americans past or living and instead focus on the greatness and progress of the American people. Read more here. [LS]

• [Cultural Heritage] Manuscripts Returned to Timbuktu

  In August, ancient manuscripts were returned to Timbuktu, thirteen years after the documents were smuggled out during a jihadist takeover. During a takeover of Timbuktu by militants linked to al-Qaida in 2012, workers at Ahmed Baba Institute smuggled out documents in rice sacks to the capital Bamako. Mali’s military junta returned the manuscripts due to the risk posed to the manuscripts by humidity in Bamako. Read more here. [LS]

• [Sponsorships] Participants in the Chicago Architectural Biennial Withdraw

  Nine participants in the 2025 Chicago Architectural Biennial withdrew in protest of sponsor Crown Family Philanthropies. (“Crown”). Crown invests in General Dynamics, a military contractor that provides weapons such as the MK-84 bomb to the Israeli army. Twenty-two individuals signed and sent a letter to the Biennial’s organizers stating Crown’s sponsorship is “incompatible with the values of our work as well as the event’s stated mission…[of] pursuing radical change.” The letter called for the Biennial to not accept further funding from Crown Family Philanthropies. Read more here. [LS]

   

• [Insurance] Ronald Perelman’s $400 Million Insurance Claim for Fire-Damaged Art Denied

  Billionaire and art collector Ronald O. Perelman attempted to collect a $400 million insurance payout for five paintings he claimed were damaged in a 2018 fire at his East Hampton home. The works included two Warhols, two Ruschas, and one Twombly. Perelman argued high humidity, smoke, and soot penetrated the artworks’ frames and dulled color and contrast, leading to a loss of “character.” Justice Joel M. Cohen found there was no visible damage to the paintings and no damage traceable to the fire. Accordingly, the insurance claim was denied. Read more here. [LS]

• [Auctions] French Artist, Invader, Sues Auction House for Sale of 15 Artworks

  On September 24, Franck Slama, better known as “Invader,” filed a lawsuit against Julien Entertainment.com in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Invader claims that Julien Auctions engaged in copyright infringement, theft, and violations of the Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA). He alleges that fifteen of his original artworks were stolen from their installation sites, resulting in damage, mutilation, or distortion. The disputed works were slated for Julien Auctions’ sale, Street Art: Paint and Pavement. The following day, September 25, the court granted Invader’s request for a restraining order, halting the auction of the items. Read more here. [LS]

• [Art Crime] Russian Activist Artists Sentenced in Absentia

  Five members of Russian feminist art collective “Pussy Riot” have been sentenced in absentia by Moscow’s Bamanny District Court on charges related to their critical stance against Vladimir Putin’s regime. The exiled artists were found guilty of circulating “false information” regarding the Russian military in their 2022 music video “Mama Don’t Watch TV.” Maria “Masha” Alyokhina, Diana Burkot, Olga Borisova, Alina Petrova, and Taso Pletner received sentences ranging from eight to thirteen years. Read more here  [RB]

• [Arts Funding] Federal Court Rules Executive Order on “Gender Ideology” Unconstitutional

  A Rhode Island federal court ruled that National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) grants are not required to comply with President Trump’s executive order barring federal funds from being used to “promote gender ideology.” As a result of the executive order, the NEA instituted a new review policy for grant applications that considered “whether the proposed project promotes gender ideology” in addition to artistic merit. The ACLU filed a lawsuit in March on behalf of several theaters, claiming the new policy violated their First Amendment rights. Senior District Judge William E. Smith found the policy an unconstitutional violation of the First Amendment and determined the NEA is therefore not required to comply. Read more here. [RB]

• [Property] Steve McQueen’s Granddaughter Sues Over Jackson Pollock Painting

  Molly McQueen, granddaughter of actor Steve McQueen, has sued South Carolina lawyer Brent Borchert over ownership of a Jackson Pollock painting. McQueen claims that her grandfather legally owned the painting, but gave it to Rudolph and Pamela Borchert in exchange for a motorcycle and a property in Latigo Canyon. However, McQueen alleges the Borcherts crashed the motorcycle in question and never followed through on the terms of the deal. McQueen claims that since the painting was never returned, despite a request from her grandfather, she is the painting’s rightful owner. The painting in question is currently valued at $68 million. Read more here. [RB]

• [Censorship] Two New Reports Document Global Decline in Freedom of Expression

  Two reports published this year document a rise in censorship across the globe. “The Global Expression Report” (GxR), published by British organization Article 19, found that free speech conditions remain “open” in only 35 out of 161 countries surveyed. “The State of Artistic Freedom” report, published by the nonprofit organization Freemuse, documented similar results by compiling expert opinions and documenting the stories of individuals who have been persecuted for their speech. Both reports identify an overall global decline in freedom of speech over the last ten years, flagging conditions in the United States as cause for growing concern. Freemuse’s director stated that an increase in overt censorship has manifested in a “creeping climate of self censorship” across the globe. Read more here. [RB]

• [Museum Issues] UNESCO Launches Virtual Museum of Stolen Cultural Heritage

  UNESCO launched a virtual museum of stolen cultural objects at their conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development in Barcelona, Spain, on September 29th. The virtual museum displays 3D replicas of objects logged in UNESCO’s database of looted cultural artefacts in order to raise awareness of the illegal trafficking of cultural objects. Originally announced in 2022, the initiative was designed by Pritzker Prize winner Francis Kéré in collaboration with Interpol. Read more here. [RB]

• [Auctions] “Cera” Goes Contemporary at Phillips

  The auction house Phillips is preparing for its November 18 sale of “Cera,” a 66-million-year-old juvenile triceratops fossil expected to fetch between $2.5 million to $3.5 million under the hammer. Marketed alongside contemporary art in a new “Out of This World” section, the fossil marks the first triceratops to go under the hammer in the U.S. in more than a decade. Phillips’ strategy reflects a growing appetite among collectors for rare objects that blur the lines between art, science, and spectacle, echoing recent headline-grabbing fossil sales like Sotheby’s $44.6 million stegosaurus. By teaming up with Zurich dealer Christian D. Link, who previously spearheaded Europe’s natural history auctions, Phillips positions itself to capitalize on this expanding niche market. Read more here. [SG]

• [Archaeology] The Port That Could Lead to Cleopatra’s Lost Tomb

  Archaeologists have uncovered a submerged port near the Taposiris Magna temple complex west of Alexandria, sparking renewed hopes of locating Cleopatra VII’s elusive burial site. Once a bustling trade hub, the site now lies 12 meters underwater, where researchers have identified stone structures, columns, and amphora dating to Cleopatra’s reign. Current theories suggest the queen’s remains may have been transported through a 1,300-meter underground tunnel toward this port before seismic shifts submerged the area— if true, the discovery could mark a breakthrough in one of archaeology’s greatest mysteries. Read more here. [SG]

• [Art Basel] Missiles Over Museums in Doha

  Israel’s recent missile strike in Doha’s Leqtaifiya neighborhood has shaken Qatar’s image as a stable hub for arts and culture. Though the attack did not damage major institutions like the Museum of Islamic Art or the National Museum of Qatar, its proximity to Doha’s cultural districts has raised alarms about the vulnerability of Qatar’s growing soft-power investments, including the newly announced Art Basel Doha, set to debut in 2026. Uncertainty now lies in whether global art dealers and collectors will risk traveling to Qatar given this instability, or if this moment derails the Gulf state’s ambition to become the region’s cultural capital. Read more here. [SG]

• [Art and Museum Ethics] What would Eisenhower do? Library Director Ousted Over Trump’s Request for Historic Sword Gift

  Todd Arrington, Director of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, resigned under pressure after declining a Trump administration request to hand over an original Eisenhower sword as a gift to King Charles III. Citing legal and ethical obligations to preserve artifacts that belong to the American public, Arrington instead helped facilitate a replica to be given. He said he was told he “could no longer be trusted with confidential information,” which he believes was linked to the sword dispute. Read more here.