"Balancing Act"
Art Law Blast
September 2025
Dear Readers,
Center for Art Law has started the Academic Year with onboarding our new Judith Bresler Fellow, Kamée Payton, along with our cohort of Fall Interns: Lauren Stein, Josie Goettel, Vivianne Diaz, Kiara Chang, Shaila Gray, and Rebecca Bennett who have some big shoes to fill after a busy summer term. All are eager to learn everything the field has to offer.
If you are teaching or learning about art law, practicing or simply consuming, please RSVP to our colloquiums and clinics and stay tuned for more announcements. As always, readers, sponsors, and new subscribers, are welcome – so help us spread the word!
Center for Art Law Team
Content
What's New in Art Law
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[ART MARKET] Long-Running Art Show on Hiatus Until 2026
The Art Dealers Association of America (AADA) have canceled their previously scheduled 2025 Art Show, which is considered their biggest fundraising event of the year. When listing reasons for the cancellation, the AADA emphasized that the move was strategic, and will allow the program to refocus their efforts on national art needs. Previously, proceeds went to the Henry Street Settlement, which provides resources to New York residents exclusively. The show is expected to return in 2026 and recur indefinitely. Read more here. [JG]
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[ART RESTITUTION] Nazi-Era Looted Painting Surfaces in Argentina
An 18th-century painting entitled Portrait of a Lady, stolen during World War II by Nazi forces, is believed to have resurfaced in Argentina after being spotted in an online real estate listing. The work, attributed to Giuseppe Vittore Ghislandi and stolen from Dutch-Jewish dealer Jacques Goudstikker during the Nazi invasion, was discovered by investigative journalists at the Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad. Although absolute confirmation would require physical inspection, the Netherlands’ Cultural Heritage Agency says the work almost certainly matches the missing painting. Goudstikker’s heir, Marei von Saher, plans to file a restitution claim. Read more here. [SG]
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[REPATRIATION] Mosaic Stolen from Pompeii Returned: Curse Suspected
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.
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[ART CRIME] Russian Invasion of Ukraine Leaves Antiquities Vulnerable
As a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, 30 Ukraine museums have reported over 6,000 art pieces, many of antiquity, to the the Art Loss Register (ALR). Some of the missing pieces include a gold Scythian helmet, Sir Peter Lely’s Lady With a Dog, and Ivan Aivazovsky’s Moonlit Night. Altogether, the taken pieces are valued at millions of dollars. While it is not confirmed that Russian troops are solely responsible for the missing art pieces, many of them were witnessed being loaded into trucks or turning up in Russian auction-houses. Read more here. [JG]
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[ART CRIME] Over $200,000 of Chinese Manuscripts Stolen by Fremont Man
Jeffrey Ying, a man from Fremont, California, has been charged with stealing $216,000 worth of rare Chinese manuscripts from UCLA’s Young Research Library. To commit these crimes, Ying forged identification cards under multiple names to check out and replace the manuscripts with “dummy books.” Ying managed to steal nine books on two occasions and flew them to China shortly after removing them from the library. He was arrested by UCLA Police after attending an appointment to review eight more manuscripts under an alias. Read more here. [JG]
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[TRANSGENDER ART] Trans-Art Censorship Concerns Affect Smithsonian Show
Artist Amy Sherald has canceled her show, American Sublime, at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery after learning that the museum was considering removing her painting “Trans Forming Liberty.” The Smithsonian Secretary had proposed replacing the ten-foot portrait, depicting a Black trans woman posed as the Statue of Liberty, with a video of people responding to the painting. The conflict arose after Trump issued an executive order that critics say targeted the Smithsonian’s support for trans art. Read more here. [VD]
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[AUTHORSHIP LAWSUIT] Court Affirms: Doige Isn’t Doig
After over a decade of litigation, a U.S. court awarded Scottish artist Peter Doig $2.5 million after determining that a disputed work was not created by Doig. The issue began when Doig denied authorship of a landscape painting signed “Peter Doige.” Robert Fletcher, the owner of the painting, had purchased it from an inmate at Thunder Bay Correctional Center in Ontario, Canada, in the 1970s. Years later, Fletcher came to believe that the painting was Doig’s and sued for the right to attribute it to him. Extensive evidence showed that the landscape was actually painted by a different individual, Peter Edward Doige. Fletcher and his attorney were sanctioned $2.5 million for pursuing a frivolous lawsuit. Read more here. [VD]
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[SMUGGLED ARTIFACTS] JFK Customs Agents Bring Egyptian Artifact Smuggling Heist to an End
A Brooklyn resident pled guilty to four counts of smuggling after being arrested for attempting to traffic almost 600 rare Egyptian artifacts through JFK. While inspecting the man’s luggage, customs agents noticed several tell-tale signs of recent illicit excavation. Authorities later discovered other materials that the man used to falsify the objects’ provenance. The arrest revealed that the smuggling operation dated back to 2011 and involved more than 500 Egyptian relics. Read more here. [VD]
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[AUCTIONS] Christie’s NFT Division Goes Offline
Christie’s, the auction house that spearheaded the NFT craze of the early 2020s with the sale of Beeple’s $69.3 million Everydays in 2021, has officially announced the closing of its digital art division following steep market declines. Once at the center of the NFT world, the company reported a 96% drop in sales between 2021 and 2022; however, it will continue to offer digital art within its broader 20th- and 21st-century sales. Read more here. [SG]
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[MEMORIALS] 2016 Pulse Nightclub Shooting Memorial Painted Over
On August 20, Florida state officials paved over a rainbow street crossing on Orange Avenue, a memorial first painted after the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting to honor the primarily LGBTQ+ victims. The crosswalk sits just steps from the Pulse nightclub itself, which the City of Orlando purchased in 2023. The removal follows a June law issued by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and President Donald Trump banning crosswalk markings “associated with social, political, or ideological messages or images and does not serve the purpose of traffic control.” Read more here. [LS]
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[MUSEUM FUNDING] Pennsylvania Museum Sues Trump Administration
In March 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order ordering the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to cease all non-statutory operations. As a result, the IMLS revoked its “Save America’s Treasures” grant for the Fiscal Year 2024. The Woodmere Art Museum in Pennsylvania had been awarded a federal grant of $750,000 for conservation from IMLS, but received only $195,000 before the program’s termination. On August 26, Woodmere filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump and the IMLS alleging Trump’s dismantling of IMLS as unlawful. As of September 8, the grant was restored. Read more here and here. [LS]
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[ELGIN MARBLES] Right-Wing Group Fights Return of Elgin Marbles
The right-wing group Great British Pac sent a letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer accusing the British Museum of fostering a “covert” deal to return the Elgin Marbles to Greece. This letter, signed by former U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss and 33 other signatories, threatened to file an injunction to halt any actions related to the return of the marbles. Read more here. [LS]
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[FREE SPEECH] Settlement Requires Colorado Town to Fund Work by Underrepresented Artists
Vail, Colorado has settled a 2024 lawsuit with Húŋkpapȟa Lakȟóta artist Danielle SeeWalker in which SeeWalker claimed the town violated her right to free speech by removing her from a mural project due to her public support of Palestinian liberation. The town of Vail awarded SeeWalker an Art in Public Places (AIPP) residency in 2024, but rescinded the offer after she posted a photograph of a painting drawing connections between Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza and the historic treatment of Native Americans by the United States to her Instagram. In the settlement, Vail agreed to multiple concessions designed to foster community dialogue and generate new opportunities for underrepresented artists. Read more here . [RB]
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[FREE SPEECH] Parks Employee Fired for Displaying Trans Pride Flag
In August, Yosemite National Park fired a park ranger for displaying a Transgender pride flag on the face of El Capitan, one of the park’s landmark rock formations. For years, hanging flags on the face of El Capitan has been a popular tradition with climbers. SJ Joslin, the former ranger in question, displayed the flag for two hours during off-duty hours on May 20th. The following day, the National Park Service (NPS) published an amended to the park’s rules banning the display of banners, flags, or signs larger than 15 square ft. without a permit. The new regulations and Joslin’s subsequent termination come amid ongoing attempts by the Trump administration to suppress LGBTQ+ voices. Read more here. [RB]
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[ART CRIME] New Evidence Adds to Concerns Over Harsh Sentencing in Just Stop Oil Protest Case
New evidence calls into question the combined three-and-a-half-year sentence received by environmental activists Phoebe Plummer and Anna Holland for throwing soup at Vincent van Gogh’s 1888 Sunflowers painting in 2022. During their trial, the value of damages was ruled irrelevant by presiding Judge Christopher Hehir. Judge Hehir also classified the protest as violent, allowing him to disregard Articles 10 and 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protect peaceful protest. However, Novara Media now reports that the National Gallery’s head of framing, Peter Schade, has estimated £588 in damages. Many are questioning whether the sentences received by Plummer and Holland are proportional. Read more here.[RB]
Art for the Reich: Tracing Nazi-Looted Art from Belgium - The JDCRP Reading Room
Location:
Online
Date:
Thu, Sep 18, 2025 12 PM
The Jewish Digital Cultural Recovery Project (JDCRP) is pleased to announce their first presentation of The JDCRP Reading Room, a new online series of conversations with authors whose books have enriched our understanding of looted art and Jewish culture. The inaugural guest is journalist and author Geert Sels, whose 2022 book “Art for the Reich” uncovered long-overlooked histories of Nazi looting in Belgium. Drawing on eight years of archival research across Europe, Sels will reveal the fates of paintings stolen from Belgium, and offer insights on why so few were ever returned. While “Art for the Reich” is currently available only in Dutch and French, this discussion will be held in English. No prior reading is required.
Christie's and RAM: Mitigating Risk in an Uncertain World
Location:
New York
Date:
Thu, Sep 25, 2025 8 AM
Christie’s and the Responsible Art Market New York Committee are hosting a breakfast and panel discussion on “Mitigating Risk in an Uncertain World: Addressing Uncertainties and Avoiding Pitfalls in the Art Market of Collectibles and Luxury Goods.” The discussion will be moderated by Margaret “Maggie” J. Hoag, Deputy General Counsel at Christie’s, and will feature panelists Dana Prussian Haney, Senior Vice President of Art Services at Bank of America Private Bank; Nicole Jacoby, Head of Compliance, Americas, at Christie’s; and Anne Rappa, National Fine Art Practice Leader at Marsh McLennan Agency.
Institute of Art and Law: Diploma in Law and Collections Management in London
Location:
London
Date:
Mon, Oct 06, 2025 12 AM
The Institute of Art and Law (IAL) will offer the next session of its renowned Diploma in Law and Collections Management (DipLCM) course from 6–10 October 2025 in London, hosted by Boodle Hatfield LLP. Tailored for professionals working in museums, galleries, libraries, and archives, the course covers key legal topics including ownership, due diligence, acquisitions, gifts, deaccessioning, loans, contracts, restitution, copyright, and insurance. No prior legal training is required.
To apply for the next intake, download the application form and return it via email to Jo Crabtree at jo.crabtree@ial.uk.com.
FEATURED: Art Law Day 2025
Location:
New York
Date:
Fri, Nov 07, 2025 8 AM
Center for Art Law is proud to serve as a media sponsor and exhibitor at Art Law Day 2025, hosted by the Appraisers Association of America on Friday, November 7, 2025 in New York City. This full-day CLE program convenes leading practitioners, scholars, and professionals to examine pressing legal and ethical issues in the art market.
The 2025 agenda features a keynote address by Tina Kukielski of Art21 and four panels: the tax treatment of charitable art donations; ethics in art advising; risk management and disaster preparedness for collections; and “Hot Topics” in art law, including restitution, AI in the art market, and government censorship of art. The day concludes with an evening reception at the historic Salmagundi Club.
Registration is now open, please visit the Appraisers Association of America’s website to learn more and secure your place at Art Law Day 2025.
Colloquium XV: "R in M" Researching Jacques and Emma Rosenthal's Lost Art Collection
Location:
Munich/Zoom
Date:
Mon, Oct 06, 2025 2 PM
Colloquium XV: “R in M” Researching Jacques and Emma Rosenthal’s Lost Art Collection will be hosted in a hybrid format by the Zentralinstitut Für Kunstgeschichte in Munich.
The event will explore the research project that investigated the dispersal, that took place under Nazi persecution, of Jacques and Emma Rosenthal’s art collection after 1933. The colloquium seeks to inform attendees about experiences, research and restitution regarding this and other collections.
Career Opportunities
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Grant Development Officer, The Jewish Digital Cultural Recovery Project Foundation
The Jewish Digital Cultural Recovery Project Foundation (JDCRP), based in Berlin, seeks a Grant Development Officer to lead grant writing, submission, and oversight, ensuring alignment with funder requirements and project goals. The role involves coordinating with donors, partners, and internal teams. Ideal candidates are bilingual in German and English, experienced in public and private grant funding, and have knowledge of EU funding. Backgrounds in art history, archival or provenance research, Jewish history, Holocaust studies, and familiarity with digital humanities or AI-driven technologies are highly desirable. and writing skills, experience with fact-checking, and a background in archaeology, antiquities trafficking, or art law. Apply here.
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Executive Coordinator, Public Art Fund
Public Art Fund (PAF), New York’s leading presenter of contemporary art projects in public spaces, seeks a dynamic, skilled, and organized Executive Coordinator.
Public Art Fund has presented exhibitions by the world’s most compelling and significant artists in New York City and beyond for more than 40 years. These projects set the standard for excellence in the field, giving new meaning to urban space while engaging diverse audiences, making culture freely accessible to all.
The Executive Coordinator plays a vital role in ensuring the efficient and effective operation of the Executive Office. The position contributes to projecting the organization’s culture and values, and is a key administrative liaison with the Board of Directors, cross-departmental staff, external stakeholders including professional colleagues, partners, and members of the public. Reporting to the Artistic & Executive Director, the position provides administrative support to the Artistic & Executive Director and the President, acts as communications lead to the Board of Directors, and is responsible for general office management and coordination.
Please email cover letter and resume as attachments to humanresources@publicartfund.org. Indicate the job title “Executive Coordinator – 2025” in the subject line.
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Director, EXPO CHICAGO
The Director will lead on all aspects of EXPO CHICAGO, determining a vision for the fair and ensuring its successful delivery. It will involve working with all internal fair teams, as well as building a collaborative and productive working relationship with local collaborators, ensuring EXPO CHICAGO and Frieze’s best interests are realised. Externally, the Director will be responsible for liaising with key stakeholders and being the main contact point for galleries, collectors and curators. The Director will report to the Director of Americas, and work collaboratively with the Executive Director of Fairs and the global fair director team to ensure alignment with the overarching Frieze strategy.
Read more and apply here.
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Project Assistant, Wiener Holocaust Library
The Wiener Holocaust Library is seeking a part-time Project Assistant to support the UK Holocaust Research Infrastructure. This remote role (2–2.5 days per week) involves research, event organization, partner liaison, administration of the Regional Placement Scheme, and social media updates. Some travel within the UK (and possibly Europe) may be required. The position starts in October 2025. Applicants should have strong research skills and attention to detail.
Please send your CV and a cover letter outlining your relevant experience, to Dr Rachel Pistol at r.e.pistol@soton.ac.uk
Educational & Other Opportunities
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Research Associate, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Germany
Leuphana University of Lüneburg is seeking two full-time Research Associates to join the PAESE 3.0 sub-project within its Lichtenberg Professorship for Provenance Studies, directed by Prof. Dr. Lynn Rother. Funded by the Digital Provenance and Collection Research Science Space initiative, the project builds on the PAESE collaboration to enhance provenance data from ethnographic collections in Lower Saxony. Researchers will enrich cultural data, support project coordination, and contribute to national and international networks addressing colonial-era collections.
Ideal candidates will hold advanced degrees in the humanities or computer/data science, with demonstrated experience or strong interest in provenance research, metadata standards, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Fluency in English and familiarity with CIDOC-CRM and linked open data tools is expected.
Positions begin Fall 2025 and run through October 2028. Flexible hours and remote work options within Germany are available.
Read more and apply here.
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Call for papers – Ukrainian Cultural Heritage and UK Institutions: Shifting Perspectives and Practice
The Victoria and Albert Museum invites proposals for its conference on Ukrainian Cultural Heritage and UK Institutions, taking place on 15 September 2026. The symposium will explore Ukrainian material culture, its complex histories, and how UK institutions care for, interpret, and display these collections, especially in light of the ongoing war. Researchers across disciplines—including cultural heritage, law, emergency planning, government, and funding—are welcome to submit 20-minute paper proposals. Abstracts (max 250 words) and short biographies (max 100 words) should be sent to international@vam.ac.uk by 12 December 2025. Travel stipends may be available for international speakers.
Art and Law at the Kunsthaus Zurich: Special Tour and Discussion
Moral Rights in Practice
Efforts to Recover India’s Idols & Heritage: Modern Tools for Old Crimes
Beyond Copyright: Ethical Considerations of Generative AI
Case Law Corner
View both new and old art law cases featured this month in our Case Law Database:
Leigh v. Gerber, 86 F. Supp. 320 (S.D.N.Y. 1949).
Satava v. Lowry, 323 F.3d 805 (9th Cir. 2003)
Davis v. Carroll, 937 F. Supp. 2d 390 (S.D.N.Y. 2013)
Howard v. Freedman et al., 1:2012-cv-05263 (S.D.N.Y. July 8, 2014)
Andersen v. Stability AI Ltd., No. 23-cv-00201-WHO (LJC), 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 50848 (N.D. Cal. Mar. 19, 2025)
Peters Gallery of N.Y., Inc. v. Weiant, 1:2023cv03181, 2025 WL 2202774 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 1, 2025)
Fletcher v. Doig, 145 F.4th 756 (7th Cir. 2025)
New Titles in the Art Law Library
Accomplishing NAGPRA: Perspectives on the Intent, Impact, and Future of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (First Peoples)
by Sangita Chari and Jaime M. N. Lavallee
“Accomplishing NAGPRA reveals the day-to-day reality of implementing the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. The diverse contributors to this timely volume reflect the viewpoints of tribes, museums, federal agencies, attorneys, academics, and others invested in the landmark act.
NAGPRA requires museums and federal agencies to return requested Native American cultural items to lineal descendants, culturally affiliated Indian tribes, and Native Hawai’ian organizations. Since the 1990 passage of the act, museums and federal agencies have made more than one million cultural items—and the remains of nearly forty thousand Native Americans—available for repatriation.
Drawing on case studies, personal reflections, historical documents, and statistics, the volume examines NAGPRA and its grassroots, practical application throughout the United States. Accomplishing NAGPRA will appeal to professionals and academics with an interest in cultural resource management, Indian and human rights law, Indigenous studies, social justice movements, and public policy.”
Grave Injustice: The American Indian Repatriation Movement and NAGPRA
by Kathleen S. Fine-Dare
“Grave Injustice is the powerful story of the ongoing struggle of Native Americans to repatriate the objects and remains of their ancestors that were appropriated, collected, manipulated, sold, and displayed by Europeans and Americans. Anthropologist Kathleen S. Fine-Dare focuses on the history and culture of both the impetus to collect and the movement to repatriate Native American remains.
Using a straightforward historical framework and illuminating case studies, Fine-Dare first examines the changing cultural reasons for the appropriation of Native American remains. She then traces the succession of incidents, laws, and changing public and Native attitudes that have shaped the repatriation movement since the late nineteenth century. Her discussion and examples make clear that the issue is a complex one, that few clear-cut heroes or villains make up the history of the repatriation movement, and that little consensus about policy or solutions exists within or beyond academic and Native communities.
The concluding chapters of this history take up the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), which Fine-Dare considers as a legal and cultural document. This highly controversial federal law was the result of lobbying by American Indian and Native Hawaiian peoples to obtain federal support for the right to bring back to their communities the human remains and associated objects that are housed in federally funded institutions all over the United States.
Grave Injustice is a balanced introduction to a longstanding and complicated problem that continues to mobilize and threatens to divide Native Americans and the scholars who work with and write about them.”
Chasing Stolen Art
by Sybil Terres Gilmar
“Set against the background of post World War II chaos, Ilsa Petrov, born Lily Rushkin, tells the story of the pursuit with her brother, Abraham of her parents’ confiscated art in battle scared countries of Europe. Through Ilsa’s diligent work in maintaining records of stolen art in a black book throughout the war in Odessa, she now has special knowledge that may allow her to find her parents’ art work. The teens’ adventures through Romania, Hungary, Austria, Nuremberg, and Paris bring them in contact with the reality of a post war world. They are challenged on a daily basis of being Jewish but passing as gentiles. The Art Lesson explores the notion of who we become during war and its chaotic aftermath.”
Lost Lives, Lost Art: Jewish Collectors, Nazi Art Theft, and the Quest for Justice
by Melissa Müller and Monika Tatzkow
“The legendary names include Rothschild, Mendelssohn, Bloch-Bauer—distinguished bankers, industrialists, diplomats, and art collectors. Their diverse taste ranged from manuscripts and musical instruments to paintings by Old Masters and the avant-garde. But their stigma as Jews in Nazi Germany and occupied Europe doomed them to exile or death in Hitler’s concentration camps. Here, after years of meticulous research, Melissa Müller (Anne Frank: The Biography) and Monika Tatzkow (Nazi Looted Art) present the tragic, compelling stories of 15 Jewish collectors, the dispersal of their extraordinary collections through forced sale and/or confiscation, and the ongoing efforts of their heirs to recover their inheritance. For every victory in the effort to return these works to their rightful heirs, there are daunting defeats and long court battles. This real-life legal thriller follows works by Rembrandt, Klimt, Pissarro, Kandinsky, and others.”
Hot Art: Chasing Thieves and Detectives Through the Secret World of Stolen Art
by Joshua Knelman
“Hot Art traces Joshua Knelman’s five-year immersion in the shadowy world of art theft, where he uncovers a devious game that takes him from Egypt to Los Angeles, New York to London, and back again, through a web of deceit, violence, and corruption. With a cool, knowing eye, Knelman delves into the lives of professionals such as Paul, a brilliant working-class kid who charmed his way into a thriving career organizing art thefts and running loot across the United Kingdom and beyond, and LAPD detective Donald Hrycyk, one of the few special investigators worldwide who struggle to keep pace with the evolving industry of stolen art. As he becomes more and more immersed in this world, Knelman learns that art theft is no fringe activity―it has evolved into one of the largest black markets in the world, which even Interpol and the FBI admit they cannot contain. In this battle, the thieves are winning. Sweeping and fast-paced, Hot Art is a major work of investigative journalism and a thrilling joyride into a mysterious criminal world.”
Museum of the Missing
by Simon Houpt
“What kind of person would dare to steal a legendary painting—and who would buy something so instantly recognizable? In recent years, art theft has captured the public imagination more than ever before, spurred by both real life incidents (the snatching of Edvard Munch’s well-known masterwork The Scream) and the glamorous fantasy of such Hollywood films as The Thomas Crown Affair. The truth is, according to INTERPOL records, more than 20,000 stolen works of art are missing—including Rembrandts, Renoirs, van Goghs, and Picassos. Museum of the Missing offers an intriguing tour through the underworld of art theft, where the stakes are high and passions run strong. Not only is the volume beautifully written and lavishly illustrated—if all the paintings presented here could be gathered in one museum it would be one of the finest collections in existence—it tells a story as fascinating as any crime novel. This gripping page-turner features everything from wartime plundering to audacious modern-day heists, from an examination of the criminals’ motivations to a look at the professionals who spend their lives hunting down the wrongdoers. Most breathtaking of all, this invaluable resource offers a “Gallery of Missing Art,” an extensive section showcasing stolen paintings that remain lost—including information about the theft and estimated present-day value—and which may never be seen again.”
In the Smaller Scope of Conscience: The Struggle for National Repatriation Legislation, 1986–1990
by C. Timothy McKeown
“In 1989, The National Museum of the American Indian Act (NMAIA) was successfully passed after a long and intense struggle. One year later, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) followed. These federal repatriation statutes&;arguably some of the most important laws in the history of anthropology, museology, and American Indian rights&;enabled Native Americans to reclaim human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony.
Twenty years later, the controversy instigated by the creation of NMAIA and NAGPRA continues to simmer. In the Smaller Scope of Conscience is a thoughtful and detailed study of the ins and outs of the four-year process behind these laws. It is a singular contribution to the history of these issues, with the potential to help mediate the ongoing debate by encouraging all sides to retrace the steps of the legislators responsible for the acts.
Few works are as detailed as McKeown’s account, which looks into bills that came prior to NMAIA and NAGPRA and combs the legislative history for relevant reports and correspondence. Testimonies, documents, and interviews from the primary players of this legislative process are cited to offer insights into the drafting and political processes that shaped NMAIA and NAGPRA.
Above all else, this landmark work distinguishes itself from earlier legislative histories with the quality of its analysis. Invested and yet evenhanded in his narrative, McKeown ensures that this journey through history—through the strategies and struggles of different actors to effect change through federal legislation—is not only accurate but eminently intriguing.”
The Banker’s Daughter
by Caroline Thonger
“Biography of Eva Steinthal, born in the 1890s into a wealthy Jewish family in Berlin. After Hitler came to power she and her family fled and were scattered. Eva ended up in Peru, unable to speak a word of Spanish. This book, based on extensive family papers, describes both her early life in Berlin and her adventures after she moved to South America.”