Crime A Spanish Collector Is on Trial for Forging Artworks by Chillida, Lichtenstein, and Munch—Then Consigning Them to Auction Houses The accused could face six years in prison for intellectual property theft and fraud related to the falsification of at least 15 works of art. By Taylor Dafoe, Jan 19, 2023
Crime Three Members of an Infamous German Crime Family Have Confessed to Participating in the Green Vault Heist The suspects explained how they pulled off the brazen theft in court this week. By Taylor Dafoe, Jan 18, 2023
Law Getty Images Is Suing the Company Behind Stable Diffusion, Saying the A.I. Generator Illegally Scraped Its Content The stock image platform says that the A.I. firm violated copyright laws. By Taylor Dafoe, Jan 17, 2023
Law A Prized Van Gogh Was Sold Under Nazi Threat, Say the Heirs of a Jewish Banker Who Are Suing to Reclaim the Painting From a Museum A Japanese company acquired the "Sunflowers" canvas at auction in 1987 and plans to defend its ownership rights to keep the piece in its museum. By Taylor Dafoe, Jan 13, 2023
Museums 15 Years After a Catastrophic Flood, the University of Iowa’s Esteemed Art Museum Is Reborn With a Fresh Vision The newly renamed Stanley Museum of Art in Iowa City aims to become an academic teaching museum for the 21st century. By Taylor Dafoe, Jan 11, 2023
Politics Russian Cyber Attacks Disrupt Banksy’s Print Sale Benefiting Humanitarian Efforts in Ukraine The website hosting applications for the limited-edition artworks was overwhelmed by entries—many from suspicious sources in Russia. By Taylor Dafoe, Jan 10, 2023
Museums Rock Star Phil Collins Is an Avid Collector of Alamo Artifacts. A New Museum to Display Them Has Given Rise to Authenticity Doubts A modest venue is expected to open in San Antonio next year, with an even bigger museum planned for 2026. By Taylor Dafoe, Jan 10, 2023
Museums Paris’s Rodin Museum Has Scrapped Plans to Open a $17 Million Outpost in the Canary Islands Locals have opposed the project, panning its exaggerated financial projections and arguing that Rodin has no connection to the region. By Taylor Dafoe, Jan 5, 2023
Law Italian Police Confiscated a $4.2 Million Rubens Painting From a Genoa Exhibition as Part of a Fraud Investigation A decade ago, the owners illegally exported the piece and staged fake sales abroad to boost its value, according to the Carabinieri. By Taylor Dafoe, Jan 4, 2023
Auctions This Creepy 17th-Century Baby Portrait Was Found in the Home of an ‘Eccentric’ English Farmer. It May Fetch $24,000 at Auction For years the painting hung on the back of a door that was always open. See it and you’ll understand why. By Taylor Dafoe, Jan 3, 2023
Archaeology Police Seized Hundreds of Paleolithic Tools, Roman Tiles, Bones, and Other Ancient Artifacts From Two Homes in Spain Also uncovered at one of the sites was a hand-written notebook detailing the exact locations from which the items were taken. By Taylor Dafoe, Jan 3, 2023
Art World Here Are the 9 Biggest Art-World Controversies of 2022, From Climate Activists Attacking Masterworks to A.I. Replacing Artists So much outrage. By Eileen Kinsella & Taylor Dafoe, Dec 27, 2022
Art World Amoako Boafo Just Opened a New Residency Program and Exhibition Space in His Hometown of Accra to Support Fellow Artists The goal, Boafo said, is to “equip artists to enable them to be bold in their expression.” By Taylor Dafoe, Dec 19, 2022
People Philip Pearlstein, a Figurative Master Who Preferred Nude Portraits Over New Modes of Abstraction, Has Died at 98 The artist came up with Andy Warhol but ultimately opted for different a way of working. By Taylor Dafoe, Dec 19, 2022
Law A New York Judge Has Ordered Pace Gallery to Pay $6.3 Million to a Real Estate Firm The company CBRE alleges that it helped Pace secure a new lease in 2015 but the gallery refused to pay commission fees. By Taylor Dafoe, Dec 14, 2022
