Art Law Blog

This week, the Grossman team obtained a complete victory for a collateral loan broker in a dispute involving a loan secured by an important artwork.  The case highlights a pitfall that plagues many art transactions: a lack of clarity regarding the timing of passage of title in an art sale.

In late 2024, we celebrated a major win in a complex, multilateral dispute over a Basquiat masterwork at the heart of the fraudulent schemes orchestrated by convicted art dealer Inigo Philbrick. Just this week, the Court sided again with our client, agreeing with our arguments that Athena failed to clearly raise its alternative theories earlier in the case, and therefore it lost its chance to pursue them at such a late stage of the dispute.  

2025 was another outstanding year for the Firm, as we delivered key wins in a range of complex litigation; achieved successful results in transactional matters totaling more than $1 billion, including a single $100 million private art sale; shared our expertise through a variety of speaking engagements; and marked an exciting milestone with our move to the historic Fuller Building. 

The Manhattan-based Jack Shainman Gallery has sold artworks by Nigerian-American painter Odili Donald Odita for years.  But this fall, disputes between the artist and gallery devolved into a lawsuit filed in New York state court.  Their claims highlight some of the ways an artist’s relationship with his or her primary-market gallery can go awry.

This week, Judd Grossman spoke as a panelist at the Appraisers Association of America's National Convention at the New York Athletic Club. Alongside co-presenters Cynthia D. Herbert and Jennifer Garland Ross, Judd discussed authentication and due diligence, highlighting case studies that showcase the role of appraisal work in art-related litigation. 
 

Last week’s Issue #8 of NO RESERVE highlighted a segment from Judd Grossman’s interview with Josh Baer from Art Basel Miami 2024, where he shared his insights on the art market’s major players and shifting trends. The full conversation is available here. 

In the latest installment of Art World Infamy—a special investigative series from The Art Angle—Judd Grossman joined Artnet’s Eileen Kinsella to revisit the story of Inigo Philbrick’s massive fraud and its impact on the art market.

Last week, Grossman LLP special counsel Kate Lucas spoke to Amherst College students and faculty about emerging copyright issues posed by generative artificial intelligence (AI).  The event was part of an ongoing initiative at Amherst called “AI in the Liberal Arts,” which aims to explore, from an interdisciplinary perspective, the ways in which AI is rapidly changing our world. 

A New York judge has rejected Ron Perelman’s attempt to collect more than $400 million from insurers over five paintings he claimed were harmed in a 2018 fire at his East Hampton estate, the Creeks.  The high-stakes case highlights how elusive and complex it can be to quantify claims of subtle damage to fine art in insurance disputes, where questions of value, perception, and proof often collide.

Recently introduced in the Senate, the Art Market Integrity Act seeks to enhance transparency in the art market by subjecting high-value and international transactions to anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CTF) regulations.  

On Friday, the firm earned a decisive win in a long-running dispute against “former hedge-fund star” Philip Falcone, obtaining a fraud judgment in connection with a series of loans that Falcone took from our client—secured by his wife’s 20-carat Harry Winston diamond ring, as well as artworks by Picasso, Hirst, and Prince.

The Firm achieved a significant milestone this week after a federal Judge found that it would be appropriate to hold in contempt art dealer Andrew Foster, and issue a bench warrant for his arrest, after he “thumbed his nose” at the Court for completely failing to participate in post-judgment discovery—all the while, flaunting luxury travel, private flights, and fine dining on his social-media accounts.

Special Counsel Kate Lucas and Associate Jacqueline Jakimowicz recently shared legal insights on catalogues raisonnés at the Center for Art Law.

This week, the Grossman team obtained an important victory in yet another case arising out of the fraudulent schemes of disgraced art dealer Inigo Philbrick.  Our clients in this litigation were part of a group who, at Philbrick’s behest, co-invested in a Christopher Wool artwork.

This past fall, we proudly announced a major victory for our client in a complex dispute over an important Basquiat painting at the center of the fraudulent schemes of disgraced art dealer Inigo Philbrick.  Now, after nearly six years of litigation, we are pleased to report that yesterday, a federal judge upheld the earlier ruling in its entirety.

After a four-year legal battle, famed artist Jeff Koons has defeated a copyright lawsuit by another artist whose artwork was incorporated into a 1990 Koons project; earlier this spring, a federal judge held that plaintiff had waited too long to sue and his claims were time-barred.  

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals has weighed in on a dispute between the Art Institute of Chicago and the heirs of a Holocaust victim, over an artwork by famed Expressionist artist Egon Schiele. 

President Trump’s recent trade tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China have led to major disruptions in the global art market, increasing costs and uncertainty in international art transactions. 

A report from the U.S. Copyright Office and a recent federal court decision are adding to the already complex legal landscape in which artificial intelligence (AI) tools are rapidly evolving.  These new developments are relevant to anyone interested in how AI is changing the creative arts and copyright law.

A team of experts is investigating a painting bought for under $50 at a garage sale, believing it to be an undiscovered portrait by Vincent van Gogh.  The story illustrates some of the newest methods—and thorniest challenges—of authenticating art.

Grossman LLP is picking up right where it left off last year, securing two significant victories last week in New York federal and state court art-related disputes. 

2024 was another exceptional year for Grossman LLP, as we advanced our decade-plus legacy of trailblazing work in the field of art law, successfully representing our clients in a variety of complex litigation and transactional matters.

In a special segment of The Baer Faxt Live from Art Basel Miami Beach, Judd Grossman recorded live with Josh Baer from the Miami Beach Convention Center on the fair's VIP opening day.

Grossman LLP is pleased to welcome Emily Andersen and Jacquie Jakimowicz to our growing practice. 

Last month, a New York court dismissed a lawsuit by the former president of the board of directors of the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, in a case focused on allegations of misconduct and self-dealing by the Foundation’s board members.  The court did not substantively analyze the merits of the plaintiff’s claims, but the case highlights the importance of clear and thoughtful governance procedures and standards for art-related not-for-profit organizations.

​After more than four years of litigation, a federal judge has delivered our team a total victory, ruling that our client holds full title to the multimillion-dollar Basquiat painting at the center of disgraced art dealer Inigo Philbrick’s massive fraud.  

A recent dispute over a one-of-a-kind Wu-Tang Clan album highlights some of the potential challenges inherent in ownership of digital art.  The suit was initiated by PleasrDAO, an international entity that collects important works of digital media, against disgraced former American pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli.

A recent federal court decision illustrates some of the challenges inherent in commissioning outdoor environmental artwork; the difficulties parties face in making sure that both the art and their contracts will withstand the test of time; and the limitations of the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 (VARA).

In a move that may cause ripples in the competitive art world, the Federal Trade Commission recently issued a final rule that, if it goes into effect as planned later this year, will ban most forms of non-compete agreements between employers and employees. 

A years-long dispute over an alleged “Rothko” forgery has culminated in a total victory for our client, a distinguished New York art dealer.

Last week, the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court, First Department, issued a unanimous 5-0 decision reversing the trial court’s denial of summary judgment and handing Grossman LLP a total win for its clients in a real-estate litigation that had been pending for over 10 years.

We have written before about the many legal questions raised by new and rapidly-proliferating artificial intelligence technology.  In recent weeks, there have been significant developments in AI-related litigation across the country.  As the new year began, the New York Times instituted a lawsuit alleging copyright infringement of its news content by ChatGPT.  In February, a federal judge trimmed the scope of a group of lawsuits challenging the use of books to “train” AI.  And multiple competing class actions are jostling to determine which one will proceed first.  These lawsuits promise to raise difficult questions about how our existing copyright regime should apply to the brave new world of content generated by AI. 

 

This past year was an exciting one for Grossman LLP, as we continue to build on more than a decade of groundbreaking litigation in the art-law arena.

Grossman LLP associate Maria Angela Brusco recently spoke on a panel at the Art Law Institute of the New York County Lawyers’ Association (NYCLA), focusing on the legal implications of collectors’ promises to make gifts of artworks in the future.  Below, she summarizes some key insights from the event.

In June of 2022, on the shore of Lake Michigan, a fire destroyed the lake house of hedge fund founder Matthew Halbower and his wife Julie.  Now, in a lawsuit pending in federal court, the family’s trust seeks an insurance payout for several valuable artworks destroyed in the fire, including four Monet paintings.  The case highlights the complexity of insurance disputes involving fine art.

The Grossman team has won a total victory dismissing all counterclaims in our suit on behalf of a prominent art collector against an art gallery for refusing to rescind a sale of paintings that turned out to be forgeries.

The evolution and rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (“AI”) is transforming many industries, but courts are just starting to examine how AI interacts with existing copyright law governing artistic works.  In a groundbreaking new case handed down this summer, a federal court has now ruled that an artwork wholly generated by AI is ineligible for copyright protection.

Artist Maurizio Cattelan arguably created the most talked-about work at Art Basel Miami in 2019.  But in 2020, fellow visual and conceptual artist Joe Morford sued Cattelan for copyright infringement, alleging that Cattelan’s work, Comedian—which consisted of a banana duct-taped to a wall—unfairly copies one of Morford’s creations, a piece titled Banana and Orange.  This summer, a Florida federal court rejected Morford’s claims, holding on summary judgment that the two works are not “substantially similar” enough to support an infringement claim. 

Three visual artists have sued the ultra-fast-fashion behemoth Shein for copyright infringement, alleging that Shein operates a wide-ranging scheme that relies on artificial intelligence, deliberate copyright infringement, and a hope that none of the artists will notice.

Two copyright lawsuits against appropriation artist Richard Prince arising out of his controversial “New Portraits” artworks have cleared a major hurdle—summary judgment—and appear to be headed for trial.  In a decision issued in May (just days before the Supreme Court issued its Warhol ruling), a federal judge rejected Prince’s fair use defense.

In late May, the Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision in the case of Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. v. Goldsmith.  The case sought to provide clarity on the thorny concept of “fair use” in copyright law.  In particular, it focused on how courts should evaluate the “purpose and character” of an artist’s use of someone else’s creations, and the role of “transformativity” in that evaluation.  The resulting decision is, in some ways, limited in scope, but in other respects, it raises new questions for artists who borrow from the work of others. 

Grossman LLP has secured summary judgment dismissing a former hedge-fund billionaire’s claims that our client issued a usurious loan.

Earlier this year, we wrote about some of the NFT-related litigation working its way through courts around the country.  Recently, one of those cases culminated in a substantial win for Yuga Labs, creator of the famous “Bored Ape Yacht Club” NFT collection. 

The Second Circuit recently affirmed the dismissal of a fraud claim by a buyer who bought an artwork in 1985 and had it appraised on several occasions beginning in 2007, but did not sue until after the work was deemed inauthentic in 2018.  The case focused on the work’s exclusion from the artist’s catalogue raisonné; the appraisals all expressly noted that the work’s authenticity was only “assumed” because the painting was not in the artist’s catalogue.  The court reasoned that in light of such a disclaimer, a reasonable person should have further investigated its authenticity, and therefore the fraud claim’s two-year statute of limitations began to run at that time. 

​Grossman LLP has secured a $1.18 million recovery—every dollar of damages sought—following a hard-fought breach-of-contract dispute on behalf of a leading apparel manufacturer hired to produce gowns in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

For years now, we’ve been following the legal fallout resulting from a rancorous dispute between Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev and his onetime art dealer, Swiss businessman Yves Bouvier.  The feud has resulted in legal proceedings in multiple countries, and other art world players have become entangled in the fray as well.  In one of those spinoff disputes, Rybolovlev has sued auction house Sotheby’s, alleging that it aided Bouvier’s machinations.  Earlier this month, a federal court rejected a number of those claims, but other claims will proceed to trial unless the parties can reach a settlement in an upcoming mediation.

A Grossman LLP trial team led by Judd Grossman and Webster McBride secured a nearly $8 million securities-fraud judgment in a case arising from a Ponzi scheme involving the resale of tickets to high-profile events such as the Broadway musical "Hamilton."

On February 8, just two days after we published our last post, the jury in the MetaBirkins case reached a verdict, awarding Hermès $133,000 in damages in connection with the fashion house’s claims of trademark infringement, dilution, and cybersquatting. 

Almost two years ago, we shared some thoughts about the NFT market, how it might interact with the traditional art market, and what questions and issues it might raise as it develops.  Now, we are watching with interest as an early wave of NFT-related litigation begins to make its way through the courts.  In this update, we explore some of the legal disputes that are applying established law to this new context, and raising novel questions for courts to decide.

In recent weeks, the families of two different victims of Nazi persecution have filed suit in federal court, each suing a major museum over artwork taken from their ancestors during the Nazi era.  These cases continue to raise complex legal questions about the painful legacy of a brutal regime and its massive displacement of art throughout Europe during the years before, during, and after World War II.