Last week, a New York appellate court upheld the dismissal of invasion-of-privacy tort claims against photographer Arne Svenson for his 2012 photography series, “The Neighbors.”  The decision marks an important development concerning the intersection of art and privacy laws.

A recent unpublished opinion from a Michigan state appellate court touches on recurring and important themes in recent art-law cases:  the degree to which buyers may rely on a dealer’s representations about a work of art, and the degree of pre-sale diligence required by buyers. See King v. Park West Galleries, Inc., No. 314188 (Mich. Ct. of App., Dec. 2, 2014).

During the first week of November, two works by Egon Schiele sold at auction—one at Christie’s and one at Sotheby’s. This blog post examines the troubled stories behind these works, the way the two sales unfolded, and what they can teach us about the current state of art restitution efforts.

Two recent criminal investigations illustrate the security challenges faced every day by libraries, record depositories, and other collections of books and documents. For reasons discussed below, institutions exploring security options for their archival collections should consult both legal counsel and security experts who can help formulate a strategy that makes sense for an institution’s unique needs.

The long saga of an iconic set of bronze Chinese sculptures continues.  In the 1700s, European Jesuits employed by the imperial court during the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) designed a dozen sculptures—giant bronze animal heads representing the twelve figures of the Chinese zodiac. The sculptures were originally part of a clock-fountain, with the heads spouting water to mark the hours.  The fountain was located in the celebrated gardens of the Old Summer Palace in Beijing until, in 1860, the palace was beset by French and British troops during the Second Opium War.  The zodiac heads became the spoils of war, looted and spirited away.

A few weeks ago, we discussed tensions between Sicilian cultural officials and two American museums regarding an exhibition of ancient artworks and artifacts from Sicily.  The works have been on display at the Getty Villa in Malibu, California, and they were scheduled to travel to the Cleveland Museum of Art in September—until Sicilian officials decided that the ongoing loan of some of the most prominent works was damaging Sicily’s tourism trade.  The complaints threw a wrench into the planned exhibits, particularly as there was no signed contract governing the terms of the overseas loans of artworks from Sicily to the two museums.

This spring, the Getty Villa in Malibu, California introduced an exhibition of remarkable ancient works from Sicily.  The exhibit, titled “Sicily: Art and Invention between Greece and Rome,” features works ranging from rare coins to engraved battle gear; together, the works speak to Sicily’s unique role as a crossroads and center of artistic innovation in the classical world.  The Getty exhibition closes in August, after which the works were scheduled to be displayed at the Cleveland Museum of Art this fall.  The Getty spent nearly $1 million to mount the show, which the New York Times has called “the first major survey of ancient Sicilian art in the United States.”