Greetings!

We are delighted to announce that our Fourth Annual Art, Law, and Finance Symposium is scheduled for May 8th, 2025 at SFMOMA.

Confirmed speakers and topics include:

🎨 Kent Keirsey, Founder and CEO, Invoke, on the first AI-generated artwork to receive copyright registration

🎨 Paolo Moro, Professor of Law, University of Padova, Italy, on the link between law and art

🎨 Emily Behzad, Professor of Law, California Western School of Law; Anne-Marie Carstens, Professor of Law, University of Baltimore School of Law; and Benjamin Porter, Professor of Middle Eastern Archaeology, University of California, Berkeley, on preserving cultural heritage in times of war

🎨 Aaron Bastian, Director of Fine Arts, Bonhams San Francisco; Paul Clark, Senior Counsel, Seward & Kissel LLP; and Frank Levy, Gallerist, Levy Galleries NY, on navigating dealers and auction houses

🎨 Kyle Karrash, Artist, on sustainable art through creative reprocessing

Additional details and registration are available here.

This month, we cover the most significant developments in the art world, from AI copyright milestones to major museum renovations. This collection of articles examines how technology is reshaping artistic creation, while also highlighting traditional concerns in cultural heritage preservation and art market dynamics.

Delia Violante

Founder of the Art, Law, and Finance Project

Berkeley Center for Law and Business

Michael Murphy: - Look Sharp, Print on Velvet Fine Art Paper, 20x30

Academic Corner

PABLO MORO| UNIVERSITY OF PADOVA

In his recent article, Iconology of Justice. Rhetoric and Law in The Calumny, University of Padova Law professor Pablo Moro presents a rhetorical analysis of The Calumny by Sandro Botticelli, a tempera painting created between 1494 and 1497. Moro explores how Botticelli uses classical concepts of justice and trial to depict an unjust legal process, highlighting the absence of truth in judgment. He explores three levels of meaning within the painting - historical, cultural, and theoretical - emphasizing the connection between truth, trial, and the classical concept of justice. Read more>

Limitations on Copyright for AI-Generated Art

UNITED STATES COPYRIGHT OFFICE

The U.S. Copyright Office has concluded that artists who use AI in their work are entitled to copyright protection for their own expression, but that text prompts alone are generally insufficient to satisfy the requirements. Read the report here>

A Slice of History: AI Artwork Granted Copyright Registration

ARTNET



On January 30, 2025, “A Single Piece of American Cheese” – created by Kent Keirsey using his own Invoke generative AI platform – became the first AI-assisted artwork to receive copyright protection. Keirsey was able to demonstrate significant human creative input through documented iterative refinements. Watch his creative process here and read more>

R.I.S.D. Partners with AI Company Invoke

ARTNET

The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) has partnered with Invoke, a small AI company specializing in enterprise-grade generative media, to provide students access to its advanced image-generation tools. Read more>

AI Copyright Case Makes Waves in the Industry

IPWATCHDOG

A district court in the Third Circuit has ruled that AI-generated output was so similar to the Westlaw headnotes used as training data that it was infringing as a matter of law. The ruling has raised concerns about the future of tools for creating AI-generated art, such as DALL-E and Midjourney. Read more>

Art Adviser. Friend. Thief.

THE NEW YORK TIMES

Former celebrity art adviser Lisa Schiff pleaded guilty to stealing $6.4 million from clients through a Ponzi scheme between 2018-2023. Once known for elevating art advising into a respected profession, she siphoned money from art sales and pocketed purchase funds from trusted clients. Now bankrupt, she faces up to 20 years in prison at her March 2025 sentencing. Read more>

How the Trump Administration Is Affecting the Arts

ARTNET

In its short time in power, the Trump administration's rollback of DEI initiatives, tariffs, cuts in funding, hostile takeover of the Kennedy Center and other actions are already having a significant effect on the Arts in the U.S. Read more>

Contemporary Art and Social Justice

THE ART NEWSPAPER

Recent critiques of the Whitney Biennial, including those by Dean Kissick and J.J. Charlesworth, argue that the dominance of identity politics in contemporary art is undermining its quality as they push for a return to past formal traditions. Read more>

Italy's Cultural Heritage Squad Busts Tomb Raiders

THE GUARDIAN

The remains of an eleventh-century church were recently discovered by the Cultural Heritage Protection unit of Italy’s Carabinieri. The site had been excavated by a gang of “tomb raiders” they were investigating. Thousands of looted items were recovered from the home of the gang’s boss. Read more>

Justin Sun Sues Collector David Geffen

THE ART NEWSPAPER

Billionaire art collector David Geffen is being sued by Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency founder Justin Sun over the ownership of Alberto Giacometti’s $78.4 million sculpture Le Nez (1947), which Sun purchased at a Sotheby’s auction in 2021. Read more>

Future of Heritage Management in Peril

CHRONICLE HERITAGE

The U.S. Supreme Court decision in Loper Bright overturning “Chevron deference” has left uncertainty as to whether the National Historic Preservation Act can continue to be used to protect historic properties. Read more>

Reparation Battle Won Against Cleveland Museum

MANHATTAN DISTRICT ATTORNEY OFFICE

The Cleveland Museum of Art has agreed to drop its battle to retain a bronze statue of Marcus Aurelius that was seized by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office as part of an investigation into antiquities looted from Turkey. Read more>

Report Alert: Cultural Heritage in Conflict and Crisis

EUROPEAN UNION EXTERNAL ACTION

Cultural heritage is crucial for social cohesion and economic development but faces significant threats, especially in conflict zones, prompting the EU to enhance its efforts in protecting it. Read more>

Documentary on Jewish Art Dealer Max Stern

THE ART NEWSPAPER

“The Spoils” is a documentary recently screened in New York about Max Stern, a Jewish art dealer who sold his collection under duress and fled Nazi Germany in 1937. The film focuses primarily on attempts to gain restitution of two works from the city of Düsseldorf. Read more>

Sotheby's Sales Fell in 2024 Amid Market Contraction

ARTNET

Sotheby’s 2024 auction sales dropped 28% to $4.6 billion, down from $6.4 billion the prior year. The drop was partially offset by a 17% increase in private sales as the auction house focused on new ventures. Read more>

The Future of Immersive Art Institutions

THE ART NEWSPAPER

Immersive digital art institutions, powered by advancements in LED screens, projection, and VR technology, have grown rapidly to over 350 locations globally at the end of 2024, up from 100 just a year before. Read More>

Christie's in Hot Water over AI Art Auction

CNN

Nearly 4,000 people have signed an open letter urging Christie’s New York to cancel its upcoming AI-generated art auction, arguing that some of the works were created using AI models trained on copyrighted material without artists’ consent. Read more>

AI’s Use in Protecting Cultural Heritage Sites

THE ART NEWSPAPER

HeritageWatch.AI, a new collaboration between Aliph, Iconem, Microsoft, and Planet Labs, will enhance cultural heritage protection through high-resolution satellite imagery, 3D modeling, and AI-driven data analysis. Read more>

OpenAI Promotes AI Filmmaking with Sora Selects

ARTNET

OpenAI’s new initiative, Sora Selects, features 10 artists and teams that use the Sora AI video generator to create short films that explore the tool’s creative potential. OpenAI has invested $3 million in the project to establish AI-generated filmmaking as a new genre. Read more>

Great Pompeii Project Lives up to Its Name

APOLLO MAGAZINE

The BBC recently aired what is likely its final coverage of the largest excavation at Pompeii in a generation, focused on Via Nola in Regio IX. Originally aimed at conservation and risk reduction, the dig uncovered exceptionally well-preserved ancient remains, surpassing expectations. Read more>

France Announces Renovation Plan for the Louvre

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS



President Macron of France unveiled plans for a major renovation of the Louvre, including a new entrance, educational spaces, and a dedicated room for the Mona Lisa, allowing the museum to accommodate up to 12 million visitors by 2031. Read More >

As Censorship Increases, the Art World Fights Back

THE ART NEWSPAPER

Artist Judith Bernstein draws a sharp parallel between Donald Trump and segregationist George Wallace in her satirical “Cockman” character, featured in her retrospective Public Fears at New York’s Kasmin Gallery. Read more>

Meet the Artist

MICHAEL MURPHY

Michael Murphy's work is inspired by architecture, built and imagined. Formally educated and trained as an architect he has taken a professional detour to attempt to reimagine the built landscape via personal design studies and various avenues of rendering, namely digital printing and original painting. Murphy is originally from San Francisco and has spent many years living in London, England where he developed an acute desire to interpret the visual landscape of California architecture, sometimes interjected with visual cues as a nod to the zeitgeist of the era in which the buildings were conceived and erected. Upon returning to San Francisco in 2008, he continued this endeavor and was able to reabsorb the influences of the built environment around us firsthand and present his interpretations through sometimes scaleless and context-free environments to focus attention on the true nature of the architecture. Learn more>

Please note that some articles listed may be subject to a paywall.

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The Art, Law, and Finance Project is hosted by the Berkeley Center for Law and Business