Art may be in the eye of the beholder, but art valuation for tax purposes is in the eye of the IRS.
Improper deductions based on inflated art valuations are now in the agency’s crosshairs, part of an ongoing
Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP Blogs
Latest from Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP
Second Circuit’s Decision in Kerson v. Vermont Law School May Embolden Property Owners to Conceal Contentious or Inconvenient Art
On August 18, 2023, the Second Circuit held that Vermont Law School’s permanent concealment of two controversial murals located at the school did not violate the mural creator’s rights under the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 (“VARA”).[1] In
Aicon Art LLC v. Aicon Contemporary LLC: A Reminder About the Importance of Knowing Who the Client Is
A September 27, 2023 decision by a Manhattan trial court, Aicon Art LLC v. Aicon Contemporary LLC, No. 650580/2023, 2023 N.Y. Slip. Op. 33340(U) (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Sept. 27, 2023), involving a dispute between two businesses located in the same
Hughes Hubbard’s Art Practice Recognized by Chambers for Fourth Straight Year
l. to r. Dan Weiner, Michael Salzman, Derek J.T. Adler and Meaghan Gragg
For the fourth year running, the Chambers High Net Worth guide, which focuses on the private wealth sector, recognized HHR as one of the nation’s leading law
Apples and Oranges: District Court Grants Maurizio Cattelan’s Summary Judgment Motion in Copyright Claim Against His Art Basel Banana
They’re apples and oranges. That’s the message, at least, that U.S. District Judge Robert N. Scola, Jr. sent on June 9, 2023 by granting Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan’s motion for summary judgment in a copyright lawsuit fellow artist Joseph Morford
Fair Use: Graham v. Prince and Warhol v. Goldsmith
A pair of copyright decisions issued in May, one involving the appropriation artist Richard Prince[1] and the other involving works portraying the musician known as Prince, explore and expand on the “fair use” defense to copyright infringement. On May
The Return of Looted Art: Warnings from 2022
While 2022 held several lessons for art market participants – from NFTs to Treasury regulations – the end of the year brought a reminder particularly for antiquities collectors of the need to carefully consider the provenance and history of objects
Courts on Both Coasts Find that the COVID-19 Pandemic Falls Within “Force Majeure” Clauses
The sudden emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. in March 2020 forced performance venues, auction houses and event spaces to cancel events, depriving artists and venues of thousands, and in some cases, millions of dollars. When the inevitable
Copyright Goes Bananas: District Court Rejects Maurizio Cattelan’s Motion to Dismiss Copyright Claim Against His Taped Banana
During Art Basel Miami Beach in December 2019, Italian artist and provocateur Maurizio Cattelan[1] duct-taped a banana onto a white wall. Within hours, his work, Comedian, sold for $120,000, went viral, and became that year’s perhaps most discussed artwork.
U.S. Treasury Study Rejects Immediate Need for New Regulation of Art Market
On February 4, 2022, the Treasury Department published its Study on the Facilitation of Money Laundering and Terror Finance Through the Trade in Works of Art (the “Report”).[1] To the surprise of many and the relief of the U.S.