Law & Politics A Psychic Has Been Ordered to Pay the Costs of Exhuming Salvador Dalí’s Corpse for a Failed Paternity Test The uncanny story of Pilar Abel, who had claimed to be the artist's secret daughter, has taken another turn. By Naomi Rea, May 20, 2020
Law & Politics The Founders of Hobby Lobby Are Suing Christie’s for Selling Them an Ancient Artifact That Pretty Much Everyone Now Agrees Was Stolen The dispute centers on the Gilgamesh Dream Tablet, which was taken from Iraq sometime in the 2000s. By Eileen Kinsella, May 20, 2020
Law & Politics The Heir to the Bic Pen Fortune Is Suing His Estranged Baroness Wife to Get Back a Trove of Giacomettis and Other Blue-Chip Art Bruno Bich’s wife refuses to return more than 28 works from his family’s collection, his lawsuit alleges. By Tanner West, May 14, 2020
Law & Politics Creditors Are Chasing Bankrupt Auction House Paddle8’s Former CEO for Allegedly Mishandling Funds to the Tune of $1 Million Those who lost money say Valentine Uhovski is to blame. By Eileen Kinsella, May 12, 2020
Law & Politics It’s Not Just Businesses That Can Get Cash From the Government’s Coveted New ‘PPP’ Loans—It Turns Out Artists Can Too. Here’s How Artists who use payroll are eligible for the new emergency loans. By Eileen Kinsella, May 11, 2020
Law & Politics A Massive International Sting Operation Spanning 103 Countries Has Recovered Thousands of Stolen Artworks and Antiquities 101 suspects were arrested in the global operation. By Taylor Dafoe, May 7, 2020
Law & Politics Tech Kingpin Sean Parker Bought an Old Master Painting at Christie’s for Almost $6 Million. After That, Things Got Messy—Fast A federal judge must sign off on the final arbitration order that awards the work to Parker. By Eileen Kinsella, May 4, 2020
Law & Politics Federal Authorities Have Launched an Investigation Into the Fugitive Art Dealer Inigo Philbrick, Who Allegedly Fleeced Clients Out of Millions People who did business with the now-vanished dealer are beginning to receive subpoenas from the Justice Department. By Eileen Kinsella, Apr 28, 2020
Law & Politics Can I Break My Art Gallery’s Lease Because of Coronavirus? + Other Questions About How Force Majeure Works, Answered by Lawyers Two art lawyers offer a primer on the legal concept and how it applies to the art business now. By Thomas C. Danziger & Charles Danziger, Apr 27, 2020
Law & Politics Artist Howardena Pindell Is Suing Her Former Gallery for Allegedly Hiding Sales and Failing to Pay Her for Years The artist says accounts of sales and inventory provided to her were "willfully misleading and inaccurate." By Eileen Kinsella, Apr 24, 2020
Law & Politics Police Arrest an Oxford Professor for Allegedly Stealing Ancient Papyrus Fragments and Selling Them to the Museum of the Bible Dirk Obbink says the allegations have been fabricated to harm his career. By Sarah Cascone, Apr 17, 2020
Law & Politics The Wildly Popular Video Game ‘Call of Duty’ Is Now Officially a Work of Art, According to New Court Ruling The ruling establishes some legal precedence for video games to be called artworks. By Sarah Cascone, Apr 14, 2020
Law & Politics Congress’s $2 Trillion Stimulus Package Offers Many Benefits for Artists and Freelancers. Here’s a Step-by-Step Primer on How to Claim Yours Self-employed artists, freelancers, and gig-workers can now apply for unemployment benefits. By Taylor Dafoe, Apr 13, 2020
Law & Politics Manhattan’s DA Just Slammed Christie’s With a $16.7 Million Fine for Failing to Collect New York Sales Tax for Years The DA's office said the company failed to properly collect tax on international sales to New York clients between 2013 and 2017. By Eileen Kinsella, Apr 9, 2020
Law & Politics Who Owns the Copyright to Tattoos? A Court Issues a Landmark Ruling Over LeBron James and Other NBA Stars’ Right to License Their Body Art LeBron James says he has the right to license his own likeness, and that includes his tattoos. By Taylor Dafoe, Mar 30, 2020
