Greetings!

Last month, we hosted a conversation with Berkeley Law Professor Sonia Katyal and John Belcaster, general counsel at MSCHF, the ever-so-elusive art collective. From Satan Shoes to microscopic Louis Vuitton bags, the art collective has done it all while strategically balancing what it means to work within the rules of intellectual property law.

We also hosted a panel that explored the contrasting cultural property approaches of Italy and the U.S. using the European Court of Human Rights decision in Getty v. Italy as a key example. Key takeaways are available here.

Below is what's coming:

🎨 Wednesday, December 4 - a conversation between Berkeley Law Professor Sonia Katyal and author Orlando Whitfield on his new book “All That Glitters,” an insider’s account of the contemporary art world. Register Here >

This month, we highlight news of legal troubles for big names in the art market, changes to spending patterns of art investors, AI-generated art going mainstream, AI-generated fashion going pret-a-porter, and more.

Delia Violante

Founder of the Art, Law, and Finance Project

Berkeley Center for Law and Business

William Otton - Diebenkorn and Cezanne Meet in Santa Barbara, oil on canvas 34x40

Academic Corner

BENJAMIN PORTER | UC BERKELEY

In his recent article Repatriation in university museum collections: Case studies from the Phoebe A. Heart Museum of Anthropology, UC Berkeley associate professor Benjamin Porter explores the unique positioning of university-based anthropology museums to pursue nuanced decisions concerning the disposition of collections in their care, setting best practices for the field. The authors describe a three-stage approach to repatriation that they implemented during their tenure at the University of California, Berkeley’s Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology between 2015 and 2019 when Professor Porter served as Director and co-author Jordan Jacobs served as head of Cultural Policy and Repatriation (CPR). They use examples involving human remains and cultural objects with origins from all over the world to demonstrate the benefits of transparency, open communication, and rigorous investigation of provenance and original context. The approach can produce satisfying results even when it does not lead to a transfer based on the criteria and priorities of potential recipients. Read more >

Swiss Court Rules Against Yves Bouvier in Tax Dispute

THE ART NEWSPAPER

Swiss art dealer Yves Bouvier recently settled a nine-year legal dispute with Russian oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev. The case concerned alleged irregularities of about €1.1 billion from a €2 billion sale. However, his legal issues persist as Swiss courts have ruled that he owes substantial back taxes. Read more >

Disgraced Art Advisor Lisa Schiff Pleads Guilty to Fraud

THE NEW YORK TIMES

Disgraced art advisor Lisa Schiff admitted to defrauding clients of at least $6.5 million by misrepresenting art transactions and misusing client funds from 2018 to 2023. Schiff pleaded guilty to wire fraud and agreed to a potential sentence of 41 to 51 months, restitution, and forfeiture of $6.4 million, and currently awaits sentencing. Read More >

Nazi-Looted Art Panel Rejects Claim from Groszs's Heirs

ARTDEPENDENCE MAGAZINE

Germany’s Advisory Commission on Nazi-looted art denied a claim by the heirs of George Grosz to two of his paintings, stating that there is no evidence they were lost due to Nazi persecution. Read More >

Supreme Court Denies Hearing to Restitution Study Group

CULTURAL PROPERTY NEWS

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a case brought by Deadria Farmer-Paellmann and the Restitution Study Group (RSG) to block the Smithsonian Institution from returning 29 Benin Bronzes to Nigeria, leaving prior court rulings in favor of the Smithsonian unchanged. However, the RSG plans to continue its fight for restitution. Read More >

Cross-Border Approach for Recovering Nazi-Looted Art

THE ART NEWSPAPER

On the 25^th anniversary of the Washington Principles, the once clear path to the return of Nazi-Looted art has become increasingly blurred, sometimes leaving extra-legal mechanisms as the only way to achieve restitution. The author calls for a European agency dedicated to provenance research and enhancing coordination between governments with different laws and priorities to ensure just results. Read More >

Creative Corridors

THE ROYAL SOCIETY FOR ARTS, MANUFACTURES AND COMMERCE



While it is no secret that the UK is a hub for creativity, growth is pretty uneven, as London and the M25 area make up a huge 68% of the UK's creative industry. To solve this growth issue, new research by The RSA, the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre, and Arts Council England dives into one possible approach: creative corridors. Read More >

Art Spending Is Low, but Volume Remains Steady

ARTNEWS

High-net-worth art collectors cut their spending by 32% in 2023 and early 2024, with average expenditures dropping to $363,905. This decline is attributed to economic pressures like high interest rates and geopolitical tensions, yet median spending has remained relatively stable, indicating overall market resilience. Read More >

African Art's Rise in Importance to Speculative Investors

AFRICACOM

With the price of works by blue-chip artists far out of reach for ordinary investors, interest in non-Western artists has been increasing. African artists, such as Ghanaian sculptor El Anatsui and Nigerian sculptor Yinka Shonibare, have been attracting attention, leading to significant returns for investors. Read more >

Waves of Change Incoming for the Art Market

THE BUSINESS TIMES

The art market is at a turning point as wealthy collectors allocate a smaller share of their net worth to art, and a generational wealth transfer shifts ownership to younger collectors who are less active in the market. This shift poses critical questions about the market's future growth amid ongoing changes. Read More >

UK Launches Platform Hosting Millions of Object Records

THE ART NEWSPAPER

The Museum Data Service (MDS), launched on September 13, is a digital platform that aims to consolidate 100 million object records from UK collections. The platform will initially host 3 million records from 21 museums, including the National Gallery, with plans to expand further. Read More >

Potential for Ethical Collecting Practices for US Museums

THE PENN MUSEUM

The Penn Cultural Heritage Center at the Penn Museum is launching the "Museums: Missions and Acquisitions Project" (M2A) to examine collecting policies in over 450 U.S. museums, aiming to promote transparency and align collections with community and ethical standards. Read More >

AI Art Hits the Runway

VOGUE BUSINESS

Lulu Li, founder of design studio Didelidi, collaborated with Moncler to turn an AI-generated fashion collection into real-life ready-to-wear pieces, marking her first IRL creation. This comes after years of speculation about AI's relevance to the fashion market. Read More >

Sotheby's Celebrates Botto, an AI Painter

FAST COMPANY

Botto has created and sold around 140 digital artworks for a total of $4 million in just three years. Even more remarkable: Botto isn’t human! Botto is an AI that autonomously generates works without the need for human prompts. Botto has now even earned an exhibition and auction at Sotheby’s. Read more >

Conceptual Art Rescued from the Rubbish Heap

ARTREVIEW

Two beer cans comprising Alexandre Lavet’s sculpture All the Good Times We Spent Together were rescued from a waste bin at the LAM museum in Lisse, Netherlands. The work had been on display in the museum elevator and was mistaken for trash by the maintenance staff. Read More >

Swiss Auction House Offers AI Authenticated Works

THE ART NEWSPAPER

A Swiss auction house will sell three works from the late curator Martin Kunz's collection, authenticated by artificial intelligence (AI). This move marks a potential shift in the art market, as AI authentication challenges traditional reliance on human experts and may boost credibility in art transactions. Read More >

Gucci Owner, Kerring Maintains Investor Confidence

FASHION UNITED

Investors remain cautiously optimistic about fashion conglomerate Kering's restructuring strategy despite a 16% drop in group sales and ongoing challenges with its key brand, Gucci, which heavily impacts Kering's overall performance. Despite an uncertain future for the fashion house, shares have risen by 0.5%. Read More >

Meet the Artist

WILLIAM OTTON

William Otton’s carefully crafted oil paintings beckon you with their intense and unusual colors, the symmetry of a carefully curated gallery within the painting, and the appeal of strong familiar images. There are paintings-within-a-painting that dialogue with each other (including Matisse, Diebenkorn, Monet, Picasso, and Hopper to name a few), and also newly created vistas. At first they seem serious or even wistful in their formality, then there is some whimsy to be found, and ultimately joy, as the art of experiencing art is celebrated. “My paintings include the essence of ideas, techniques and styles explored by selected artists of the last century who influenced my understanding about what makes a successful painting. I include those essences while also acknowledging 20th century Modernist reductive conventions focused on the elements of art, the two dimensional surface of the canvas and the exploration of color formed space.” Otton’s journey as an artist is informed by a lifetime within the world of art as a Doctorate of Art, professor at Texas A&M University, museum director at the Laguna Art Museum, the Wichita Center for the Arts, and the Art Museum of South Texas, and once again in the studio as a painter, sharing his lifetime in art. Learn more >

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