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Home SpeakerErik J. Stapper

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Erik J. Stapper

September 6, 2023

Erik J. Stapper, Trustee, Emilio Sanchez Foundation; Senior Counsel, Davidson, Dawson & Clark LLP

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Grüezi mitenand 👋 Center for Art Law Switzerland i

Grüezi mitenand 👋 Center for Art Law Switzerland is introducing ART x LAW INTENSIVE!

Globalization is reshaping the art world, and with it comes a growing need for legal literacy across the market’s key players. Join us in the heart of Europe for a five-day deep dive into the legal frameworks shaping today’s art world.

Location: Zurich
Hosting Partners: museums, law firms, galleries, universities, and artist studios
Dates: September 1–5, 2026

🎓 Taught by leading art law practitioners: transactional and litigation attorneys, art dealers, law professors and provenance researchers

Ideal for law and pre-law students, young attorneys, and art world professionals ready to build both knowledge and network.

Applications open between July 7 - 31, decisions on selected participants announced by August 10.

Language: English | Cost: CHF 2,500

Link in bio to apply, or reach us at zurich@itsartlaw.org

#ArtLaw #ArtLawSchool #Zurich #ArtMarket #Provenance Restitution Copyright ArtAndTech SummerSchool CenterForArtLaw

On the United States 250th Anniversary make sure t

On the United States 250th Anniversary make sure to check out our article by @hannahegadway: "Art Law at America 250: Gilbert Stuart’s Art Battles and National Imagination"

📚 Click the link in our bio to read the full article!

#centerforartlaw #artlaw #artlawyer #250 #unitedstates #4thofjuly #newarticle

Learn about art and cultural heritage destroyed or

Learn about art and cultural heritage destroyed or damaged by the ongoing war.

Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, hundreds of museums, churches, archaeological sites, libraries, monuments, and historic buildings have been damaged or destroyed. As of July 1 2026, UNESCO had verified damage to more than 540 cultural sites across Ukraine, underscoring the unprecedented threat facing the country's cultural heritage.

🎟️ Grab tickets using the link in our bio!

#centerforartlaw #artlaw #artlawyer #internationallaw #artcrime #culturalheritage

Recently one of our summer interns Cara Ianuale vi

Recently one of our summer interns Cara Ianuale visited the MET. Below is her thoughts on one item she saw within the Costume Art exhibition.👗💭⚖️

This fibrous dress in the MET’s Costume Art exhibition rests at the heart of an attribution dispute between artist Anouska Samms and designer Yoav Hadari. In May, Samms alleged that the MET did not rightfully credit her for Corpus Nervina 0.0, which bears significant resemblance to a work, Hair Dress, that she and Hadari created using her proprietary human hair-based textile she developed in 2019. The MET had expressed interest in acquiring Hair Dress in 2025, but plans fell through—according to Samms’ lawyer Jon Sharples, Hadari decided to withdraw Hair Dress and submit two other independently-designed garments instead.

Solely crediting Hadari, the label states that Corpus Nervina 0.0 is made of synthetic fibers, their scattered arrangement and wispy clusters meant to evoke the fragility of the human nervous system. Hadari claims that, while the garment was inspired by Hair Dress, its design, concept, and construction are entirely his own. The museum has declined involvement, indicating that the parties must first try to work it out on their own. For now, the label remains unchanged…

📚 Check out more information on this topic using the link in our bio!

Learn about the Center's specialized resources ava

Learn about the Center's specialized resources available on immigration and visas for artists!

Join the Center for Art Law at our Immigration Showcase, a free 30-minute webinar introducing the Center’s resources designed to support international visual artists navigating the U.S. immigration process.

Rakhel Milstein, Board Member at the Center and Founder of Milstein Law Group, will share brief remarks on recent immigration developments affecting artists, important policy considerations to keep in mind, and key issues for artists and creative professionals to watch. Atreya Mathur, Director of Legal Research at the Center, will introduce the Center’s upcoming Immigration Guide for Artists, available in July 2026. This comprehensive resource provides artists with an accessible overview of U.S. immigration pathways, including O-1 visas and other relevant options. The guide is designed to help artists better understand the immigration process, identify potential pathways, prepare more effectively, and recognize the importance of planning ahead when pursuing opportunities in the United States. Kameé Payton, the Center’s 2025-2026 Judith Bresler Fellow, will also share information about the Center’s Immigration Clinic, which provides artists with individualized support through one-on-one consultations to help them better understand their immigration options and access guidance tailored to their needs.

Join us to explore our resources and connect with the tools available to support artists navigating the U.S. immigration landscape.

🎟️ Get tickets today using the link in our bio!!

Over 100 Benin bronzes housed at Cambridge Univers

Over 100 Benin bronzes housed at Cambridge University have officially been returned to Nigeria. As university museums move forward with repatriation initiatives, larger, national institutions are left behind the curve due to statutory restrictions. From domestic legal roadblocks to internal ownership disputes, the road to restitution is rarely straightforward.

📚 Head to the link in our bio to read The Observer's full breakdown of how Cambridge’s move puts pressure on the rest of the UK cultural sector.

📸: Adam Eastland / Alamy, University of Cambridge

Join us for an informative short lecture and pro b

Join us for an informative short lecture and pro bono consultations to understand contracts with galleries and art dealers.

The Artist-Dealer Relationships Clinic helps artists and gallerists negotiate effective and mutually-beneficial contracts. By connecting artists and dealers to attorneys, this Clinic looks to forge meaningful relations and to provide a platform for artists and dealers to learn about the laws that govern their relationship, as well as have their questions addressed by experts in the field.

After a short lecture on an artist-dealer relationships topic, attendees with consultation tickets will be paired with one of the Center's volunteer attorneys for a confidential 20-minute consultation. Limited slots are available for the consultation sessions.

🎟️ Grab tickets using the link in our bio!!

And finally...here's to our Undergrad Summer 2026

And finally...here's to our Undergrad Summer 2026 interns!

Dylan Cosgrove is a rising undergraduate senior at the American University of Paris, pursuing a B.A. in Finance with minors in Art History and Economics. Drawing on experiences across fashion, law, and finance - alongside coursework at Sotheby's - her interests sit at the intersection of capital markets, legal frameworks, and cultural value. She has developed a particular interest in art finance and the mechanisms through which law shapes the movement and monetization of art, and looks forward to exploring these themes further as she advances her academic and professional career.

Natasha is an undergraduate student pursuing a BA in History of Art at The Courtauld Institute of Art, with a particular interest in Modern and Contemporary British art. She currently serves as Events Coordinator for The Courtauld’s Art Law Society. Her academic interests include intellectual property and copyright law, restitution, and the protection of architectural heritage. Since November 2025, she has also volunteered with the Centre’s Nazi-Looted Art Restitution Project, and looks forward to continuing her contribution to the project while also working across other areas of the center over the summer.

Swipe through to learn more about this year's cohort and join us in welcoming them to the Center for Art Law! 👏

Say hello to the Center for Art Law's Summer 2026

Say hello to the Center for Art Law's Summer 2026 interns🗽

Victoria Cook is a second-year law student at Queen's University and a Philosophy graduate from St. Francis Xavier University whose background includes artist advocacy and arts administration. Her interests focus on cultural heritage and restitution, authentication, and copyright.

@hannahegadway is a rising 2L at Harvard Law School and a Summer 2026 legal intern with the Center for Art Law. She graduated from Harvard College in 2025, where she majored in History & Literature. Hannah is interested in art law-related questions concerning museum provenance and the Internet.

Ian Silverstein is a dual-degree candidate at Rutgers University, pursuing a J.D. at Rutgers Law School alongside a graduate degree in Cultural Heritage and Preservation Studies, with a certificate in Intellectual Property Law. He is a painter and visual artist and has conducted separate research on emotional and aesthetic responses to art. His museum research has been supported by the NEA, and he holds a certificate in Art as a Global Business from Sotheby's Institute of Art. Ian’s illustrations can be seen in the NYTimes shortlisted book by Andrew Shtulman, titled ‘Scienceblind: Why Our Intuitive Theories about the World Are So Often Wrong’.

Eleanna Antonatou is an LLM candidate in Art, Business and Law at Queen Mary University of London and a Law LLB graduate from the University of Nottingham. Her experience spans vacation schemes at international law firms across London, Athens, and Geneva. Her interests centre on intellectual property, dispute resolution, and the regulation of cross-border art transactions.

@rebecca.caitlin is a rising 2L J.D. candidate at New York University School of Law. She completed her undergraduate degree at Middlebury College, where she studied philosophy, English, & American literatures, writing a thesis on contemporary feminist poetry’s power to cultivate moral behaviors in readers. Rebecca is interested in the overlap of human rights and art law, and particularly in cultural heritage/cultural property law, repatriation and restitution of stolen or looted cultural objects, & museum law.

Say hello to the Center for Art Law's Summer 2026

Say hello to the Center for Art Law's Summer 2026 Graduate Interns🎓

Sam Brady-Myerov is a rising second-year master’s student in the History, Theory, and Criticism of Architecture and Art program at MIT. She earned her BA in Art History and Political Science from Washington University in St. Louis in 2025 and was awarded a Fulbright Research/Open Study Award to Brazil. Her work focuses on urban decoration and the negotiations through which artists, architects, institutions, and public and private actors shape shared visual space.

Sophia Molina is a recent graduate of Wesleyan University, where she studied History and Fine Art. Her academic and professional work focuses on the intersections of art and politics, with particular interests in museum provenance, cultural heritage preservation, and cultural diplomacy. She has conducted research and worked in communications roles at institutions including the National Museum of Women in the Arts and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Kira Hernandez is a recent graduate of Williams College, where she received her B.A. in Art History and Justice & Law Studies. Currently, Kira is pursuing a M.S. in Informatics at San Jose State University, where her research focuses primarily on museum informatics, collections management systems, and improving the integration of provenance research into public-facing databases.

Cara Ianuale is a recent graduate of Brown University, where she earned degrees in the History of Art & Architecture and English. Her senior thesis in art history explores how artist Sherrie Levine’s solo exhibition of rephotographed images challenges the foundations of copyright. She is broadly interested in the intersection of art and intellectual property, and intends to study law in New York.

Lena Rohde is a recent graduate of NYU's Institute of Fine Arts, having just obtained her M.A. in the History of Art and Archaeology. She completed her undergraduate studies in 2024 with an Honours Art History and French degree from the University of St. Andrews. Her primary interests include cultural heritage protection, provenance and restitution, and intellectual property.

The passage of the Holocaust Expropriated Art Reco

The passage of the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery (HEAR) Act was intended to help Holocaust survivors and their heirs pursue the recovery of artworks lost during the Nazi era. However, as recent litigation demonstrates, significant legal hurdles remain.

In Bennigson v. Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, courts grappled with questions of Nazi-era sales under duress, provenance research, and the equitable defense of laches. This case demonstrates the tension between historical justice and legal doctrines designed to protect defendants from stale claims.

📚 Click the link in our bio to read the complete article by Lauren Stein and Donyea James!

#centerforartlaw #artlaw #artrestitution #HEARAct #holocaustart #provenance #museumlaw #culturalheritage #legalresearch

On June 13, Center for Art Law Switzerland was pro

On June 13, Center for Art Law Switzerland was proud to present the panel discussion Art Markets and the World in Transition — Frameworks Shaping Global Collecting as part of the official Zurich Art Weekend 2026 program @zurichartweekend

Thank you to our speakers for such a rich and candid discussion:

@thomstauffer
@stefanputtaert
@pascalrobertgallery
@alanakushnir
@willkorner

The conversation covered cross-border collecting challenges, Switzerland's distinctive regulatory position on freeports and due diligence, the impact of AML regulation on galleries and fairs, generational shifts among collectors, and what a more transparent and legally sound international art market could look like, and was moderated by Irina Tarsis, Founder of Center for Art Law.

We're deeply grateful to our sponsors, whose support made this event possible: @t_transporte.zuerich, @artdomains, @smartstamp, TRACE, and The Edge.

Our thanks go as well to Landesmuseum Zürich for hosting us, and to the Zurich Art Weekend team for welcoming this panel as part of the official 2026 program.

#centerforartlaw #artlaw #artlawyer #zürich #internationallaw #amlregulation #galleryissues

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