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Patera

West London antiques cheat pleads guilty to attempts to defraud auction houses

13 September 2017

A Poundland notebook helped convict a fraudster attempting to sell fake antiques through auction houses in London and Essex.

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Turkey's Stargazer claim sets ‘disastrous precedent’ says Christie’s

04 September 2017

Christie’s has said Turkey’s claim to own an ancient Anatolian idol that has been on American soil for over half a century sets “a disastrous precedent for collectors, museums and the art market”.

Newcastle Crown Court

Pitman painter faker who made £30,000 forging Norman Cornish ordered to pay back just £1

23 August 2017

A man from Sunderland who forged the work of local artist Norman Cornish (1919-2014) has been ordered to repay £1.

Van Gogh's Cows In The Meadow

Mayfair art agent faces US trial after WH Smith Viscountess pursues him in New York court

10 August 2017

Mayfair art agent Timothy Sammons is facing a fresh legal battle over the sale of paintings and could face extradition to the US.

S Franses

S Franses wins latest court appeal over right to stay in its central London gallery

26 July 2017

St James’s textile specialist S Franses has won an appeal in court for the right to stay in its gallery in central London.

Knoedler art fraudster Glafira Rosales ordered to pay $81m to victims

13 July 2017

Glafira Rosales, the Long Island art dealer who in 2013 pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion in the Knoedler art forgery case, has been ordered to pay $81m to victims of the fraud.

Antiques dealer accused of receiving and selling stolen items worth thousands of pounds

13 July 2017

A dealer is on trial in Newport Crown Court charged with 11 counts of fraud and three of handling stolen goods.

cuneiform tablets

US retailer fined after seizure of illegally imported cultural property

10 July 2017

A large high street chain in the US has been fined $3m in connection with the purchase and importing of a large number of ancient Iraqi artefacts.

De Pury ‘cut out of gentleman’s agreement’

10 July 2017

A claim by former auctioneer turned art-advisor Simon de Pury that he is owed $10m for facilitating the sale of a work by Paul Gauguin was heard before the High Court in London last week.

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What you need to know about the ‘moral rights’ of an artist in law

19 June 2017

An artist has moral rights in his or her work that cannot be ignored, as a recent case in France proved...

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A lawyer writes: auctioneers need to mind the wording of their artist attributions or run risk of selling fakes

10 April 2017

Three articles recently published in ATG focused on the sale of a painting and in each case the key issue was authenticity. Here, lawyer Milton Silverman provides advice, including legal precedent, on how auctioneers can avoid disputes relating to authenticity as a result of misattribution.

Scarlet ibis stolen in taxidermy raid

Taxidermy burglar sentenced after recovery of van full of stuffed animals

05 April 2017

A member of a gang which stole taxidermy from a well-known dealer a year ago, has been sentenced.

tea set

Mayfair Gallery loses fight for return of seized Qing dynasty silver tea set with ivory

04 April 2017

A judge in London has ruled against a London gallery over the seizure of a Chinese silver tea set dating from the Qing dynasty containing a tiny amount of ivory.

US court rules heirs can sue Germany for return of Nazi loot

04 April 2017

A court in the US has given the go-ahead for Germany to be sued for the return of Nazi-looted art and artefacts under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act.

‘Light at the end of the tunnel’ for Aristophil

25 March 2017

The legal impasse surrounding the restitution of thousands of historical documents and manuscripts from the scandal-hit Aristophil investment scheme was finally broken last week.

lapada

Cybercrime heads agenda at LAPADA Conference

24 February 2017

The ninth annual LAPADA Conference opened yesterday with a sobering reminder to dealers that they could fall victim to cybercrime.

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Old Master dispute set for high court

18 February 2017

A DISPUTE over a $10m Old Master looks to be heading to the High Court after London dealer Mark Weiss said he would “vigorously” defend a legal claim made against him by Sotheby’s last week.

Frans Hals portrait

Sotheby's and dealer Mark Weiss head to court in Old Master dispute over Frans Hals portrait

06 February 2017

Sotheby’s has begun legal action against dealer Mark Weiss over the sale of a Frans Hals painting that it now believes to be “undoubtedly a forgery”. However Weiss said he will "contest the claim vigorously".

New York

Dealer involved in $80m New York art forgery scandal sentenced

02 February 2017

A judge has ruled that the New York art dealer involved in the $80m forgery scandal that brought down the Knoedler gallery will not serve further prison time.

Museum of Modern Art Paris

French dealer claims he destroyed $100m of paintings from 'Spider-Man' art theft

01 February 2017

A co-defendant of the accused art thief known as 'Spider-Man' told a court room in France he had destroyed five paintings worth more than $100m.