IFAR Journal

Volume 9, No. 2

2007

Art and the Law: Expert Opinions and Liabilities – An IFAR Update
— Judith Bresler
In a follow up to her three previous articles in IFARreports and IFAR Journal on the same subject, Bresler considers the liability of experts rendering opinions on the authenticity of works of art and discusses two recent art fraud cases, Krahmer v. Christie’s and Fastov v. Christie’s, and a malicious prosecution case, Seltzer v. Morton, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP and Gladwell

German Angst Over Return of Kirchner Painting
— Alexander Pulte
A discussion of the restitution of Kirchner's painting Berliner Strassenszene (Berlin Street Scene) from Berlin’s Brücke Museum to the heir of its pre-WWII owner Thekla Hess. The appropriateness of the restitution had sparked debate in Germany over restitution standards, and the Washington Principles, since it was not clear whether the wartime sale of the painting by the Hess family had actually been forced.

Looking at Art: The Conservator’s View – Inpainting
— Joyce Hill Stoner
In this first article of a new IFAR Journal feature, “Looking at Art,” Stoner, a paintings conservator and art historian, examines different “inpainting” techniques and how inpainting can affect authenticity.

Book Review: More Books on World War II’s Legacy in Art and Law
— Lucille Roussin
The author reviews Holocaust Restitution: Perspectives on Litigation and Its Legacy by Michael Bazyler and Roger Alford and Rescuing Da Vinci by Robert Edsel.

News and Updates: New Tax Law Redefines “Qualified” Appraiser and Appraisal: Art Industry Response is Mixed
— Sharon Flescher
Among other changes, the Pension Protection Act of 2006 redefines a “qualified appraiser” who provides appraisals for tax purposes as an “individual” who has satisfied professional standards. The article discusses the differing comments of dealers associations, auction houses, and appraisers associations in response to the new definitions and standards.

News and Updates: Legal Bullies Beware: Montana Court Rules Against Collectors and Lawyers for Intimidating Art Expert
— Sharon Flescher
Montana’s Supreme Court rules in favor of an art expert, Steve Seltzer, and against the owner of a purported but deattributed Charles Russell painting, Steve Morton, in Seltzer v. Morton, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP and Gladwell.

News and Updates: Search Continues for Picassos Stolen from the Artist’s Family
— Sharon Flescher
In February 2007, thieves stole two paintings, Maya with a Doll and Portrait of Jacqueline, and one drawing, Marie-Thérèse at 21 , all by Pablo Picasso, from the Paris home of the artist’s granddaughter, Diana Widmaier-Picasso.

News and Updates: Five-Year Sentence for Cellini Saltcellar Theft
— Sharon Flescher
After Austria’s court ordered a retrial, the jail sentence of Robert Mang, who stole the Cellini saltcellar (salieri) from Vienna’s Kunsthistorisches Museum in May 2003, was increased to five years.

News and Updates: The Scream and Madonna -- Coda
— Sharon Flescher
Three men charged and convicted for the theft of Munch’s The Scream and Madonna in Oslo, Norway had their jail time extended. The theft might have been planned to divert police from the robbery of a currency center. A Japanese company donated money for the restoration of the two paintings, which were recovered damaged.

Stolen Art Alert
Thefts include: Pablo Picasso, Portrait of Jacqueline, Maya with a Doll, and Marie-Thérèse at 21, stolen from the Paris home of the artist’s granddaughter; Guy Wiggins, St. Patrick’s; Charles Frederick Goldie, Planning Revenge; eight paintings bequeathed to the N.P. Goulandris Foundation-Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens, Greece; five of 39 paintings stolen from a private residence in Paris; four paintings stolen from a private residence in Mexico, including Modigliani, Girl in Blue; seven Joan Miró etchings stolen from a private residence in Sweden

Missing Art
Missing works include: Roy Lichtenstein, Electric Cord, reported missing from a New York gallery; de Kooning, Abstract Drawing in Blue, Red, and Yellow.

Recovered Art
Recoveries include: two paintings stolen from Harvard University, J.S. Copley, Portrait of William Ponsonby, and Gilbert Stuart, Portrait of John Thornton Kirkland, which were sold at auction in 2006 as part of the estate of William M. V. Kingsland; Goya, Children with a Cart, stolen in transit.

Letter to the Editor: Qualified Appraisers and Art Contributions
— Franklin Feldman
Feldman, Counsel Emeritus of the Private Art Dealers Association and Chair of IFAR’s Law Advisory Council, argues that the definition of “qualified appraiser” in the Pension Protection Act of 2006 as an “individual” is too narrow, because “individual” excludes organizations that provide appraisals for tax purposes.