Art and Law The FBI Has Arrested Two New York Antiquities Dealers for Falsifying Ownership Histories Using Dead Collectors’ Names The owners of Fortuna Fine Art have been charged with falsifying documents. By Eileen Kinsella, Sep 22, 2020
People The Pinault Collection Takes Down a Photograph by Curator Rebeccah Blum’s Killer Following Art-World Calls to Erase His Legacy The art world is cutting ties with the photographer. By Sarah Cascone, Sep 9, 2020
Art and Law Thieves Purloin a Frans Hals Painting Valued at $17 Million From a Dutch Museum—for the Third Time The Dutch Golden Age painting of two boys laughing over beers was stolen from the Hofje van Aerden museum in 1988—and again in 2011. By Artnet News, Aug 27, 2020
Art and Law American Authorities Have Returned 10 Looted Antiquities Worth a Combined $1.2 Million Back to India Four years after the works were seized during New York's Asia Week, authorities formally returned them to their home country. By Eileen Kinsella, Aug 20, 2020
Art and Law A Spanish Museum Can Keep a Nazi-Looted Camille Pissarro Painting Despite Family’s Objections, an Appeals Court Rules The court lets the museum off the hook since it did not appear aware of the earlier theft. By Eileen Kinsella, Aug 18, 2020
Art and Law As Fallout From the Inigo Philbrick Scandal Rages on, Investors Go to Court to Claim Ownership of a $12 Million Twice-Sold Basquiat Painting Investors and collectors are trying to untangle the mess left by the indicted dealer. By Eileen Kinsella, Aug 7, 2020
Art and Law Art Dealer Inigo Philbrick Will Be Kept In US Custody After His Fiancée’s Family’s Bahamas Real Estate Was Rejected as Bail Collateral Philbrick's mother also offered to put up her house in Connecticut as bond. By Eileen Kinsella, Jul 15, 2020
Art and Law Disgraced Art Dealer Inigo Philbrick Has Been Formally Charged by US Authorities With Wire Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft Philbrick is reportedly in the same Oklahoma jail where "Tiger King" Joe Exotic was incarcerated until recently. By Eileen Kinsella, Jul 14, 2020
Art World A Remarkable Hostage-Like Photograph Showing ‘Proof of Life’ of a Stolen Van Gogh Painting Is Circulating in the Criminal Underworld Art detective Arthur Brand shared the photo on his social media. By Naomi Rea, Jun 18, 2020
Auctions Christie’s Quietly Pulls Greek and Roman Antiquities From an Online Auction After Evidence Suggests They May Have Been Looted The artifacts were all linked to Gianfranco Becchina, a known dealer of looted antiquities. By Sarah Cascone, Jun 15, 2020
Art World An Archaeologist Who ‘Discovered’ One of the Earliest Crucifixion Scenes Is Going to Jail for Faking His Unbelievable Finds Eliseo Gil claimed to have found the earliest written examples of the Basque language, but it was all a forgery. By Sarah Cascone, Jun 12, 2020
Art and Law Fugitive Art Dealer Inigo Philbrick Has Been Arrested on a Pacific Island and Charged With Orchestrating a $20 Million Fraud Scheme Philbrick was captured in Vanuatu and is being transferred to Guam for his first court appearance. By Eileen Kinsella, Jun 12, 2020
Art and Law A Dingbat German Student Broke Into an Australian Natural History Museum to Take Selfies With Dinosaur Skeletons The man also stole an employee's cowboy hat, which he wore during his visit. By Taylor Dafoe, May 20, 2020
Art World Looters Are Taking Advantage of the Worldwide Lockdown to Rob Cultural Heritage Sites—and Selling Their Stolen Wares on Facebook Historic sites in the Middle East and North Africa are more vulnerable than ever. By Sarah Cascone, May 1, 2020
Art World Hackers Broke Into Zaha Hadid Architects’ Servers and Demanded Ransom for the Return of Stolen Data The firm warns other companies that such breaches may become more common with staffs working from home. By Sarah Cascone, Apr 29, 2020
