Feds Recover $350K Artwork Missing for Decades
A 1967 abstract painting by Robert Motherwell, stolen by a moving company employee in the 1970s, was returned to the artist’s foundation Thursday following an FBI investigation.
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Environmentalists Intervene in Challenge of NY Ivory Ban
A federal judge ushered several environmental-advocacy and animal-rights groups into the ring Monday for a challenge of New York’s ban on ivory sales.
Read moreDC Circuit Says Effort to Recover Art Stolen by Nazis Will Continue
The D.C. Circuit on Tuesday sided with the heirs of Jewish art dealers in an effort to recover works stolen from their family during World War II.
Read moreArt-Leasing Giant Cries Foul Over Backdated Invoice
The art-leasing company Artemus claims in court that a New York City gallery fraudulently induced it into buying an encumbered artwork by the American artist Frank Stella.
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Auction of Thiebaud ‘Lollipop Tree’ Called a Forgery
A man who shelled out $1 million for Wayne Thiebaud’s 1969 painting “Lollipop Tree” says in a federal complaint that the auction house sold him a forgery.
Read moreArtist Slams Use of ‘Bean’ Sculpture in NRA Video
The artist who created the iconic piece claims “The Bean” sculpture in Chicago’s Millennium Park was used without permission in a National Rifle Association recruitment video that he says calls for violence against liberals and the news media.
Read moreDixie the Dinosaur Has Town in a Tizzy
Stop us if you’ve heard this one before. A married couple claims in court that they bought property from another couple with the understanding they also were buying “large fiberglass animal sculptures” with it, but the sellers turned around and sold a 50-foot-tall, 150,000-lb. dinosaur to a nearby city for $25,000.
Read moreWealthy Dad Hit With Countersuit on Basquiat Auction
Claiming that her father’s lawsuit gutted the auction of a Basquiat masterpiece, the middle daughter in a family of art collectors brought a $100 million legal demand of her own Thursday in the latest swat of an ugly family dispute.
Read moreFeds Seize Roman-Era Mosaic Smuggled From War-Torn Syria
Heracles lies at the center of federal forfeiture proceedings in Southern California, after an 18-foot, one-ton ancient mosaic depicting of the mythological hero smuggled from war-torn Syria was recovered from a home by federal agents in March 2016.
Read moreArtist Robert Indiana, Known for ‘LOVE’ Series, Dead at 89
Pop artist Robert Indiana, best known for his 1960s “LOVE” series, has died at his island home off the coast of Maine. He was 89.
Read moreSuit Over Pop Artist Robert Indiana Asks: Where Is the ‘LOVE’?
Describing a $30 million forgery scheme, the longtime patron of pop artist Robert Indiana claims in a federal complaint that an art publisher is exploiting the elderly creator of the iconic “LOVE” sculpture.
Read moreGerman Museum Returns Looted Art to Indigenous Alaskans
A Berlin museum has returned ancient wooden masks, an idol and other spiritually significant artifacts plundered from graves by an explorer to indigenous Alaskans, ending an odyssey in which many of the items were thought forever lost.
Read morePainting Newly Attributed to Rembrandt on Show in Amsterdam
A painting newly attributed to Dutch Golden Age master Rembrandt van Rijn went on display Wednesday in an Amsterdam museum.
Read moreFirst Night of Rockefeller Art Auction Fetches $646M
A collection of artwork put together by billionaire David Rockefeller that includes pieces from Pablo Picasso, Claude Monet and Georgia O’Keeffe brought in more than $646 million on the first night of an auction.
Read moreCollector Roasts Sotheby’s on Upcoming Sale of $30M Basquiat
Suing to block Sotheby’s sale of a masterpiece by the acclaimed graffiti artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, an 86-year-old collector accused the storied auction house Thursday of “shamelessly” capitalizing on a family in turmoil.
Read moreGermany Struggles at DC Circuit to Quash Nazi Art Case
The D.C. Circuit appeared inclined Wednesday to advance claims that the Nazi government swindled Jewish art collectors out of a prized treasure in 1935.
Read moreArt Collector Casts Koons-Gagosian Partnership as Blatant Ponzi
Five years and several million dollars later, a New York art collector claims in court that the sculptor Jeff Koons and the Gagosian Gallery are running a “garden-variety” fraud with all the hallmarks of a Ponzi scheme.
Read moreFeds Untangle 30-Year Mystery of Chagall Heist
Thirty years after a Marc Chagall oil painting disappeared from the apartment of two New York City collectors, a federal forfeiture action filed Thursday shows that the piece is returning to its rightful owners.
Read moreLawsuit Demands Cut of Picasso Painting Sale Proceeds
An estate sale firm claims in Florida court that it was stiffed out of its commission on the $23 million sale of a Pablo Picasso painting.
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