A Spanish collector is facing prison time for allegedly forging at least 15 works by artists including Edvard Munch (1863-1944), Saul Steinberg (1914-1999), and Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997). Guillermo Chamorro, 67, was a respected collector who consigned artworks to auction houses across Europe.
Continue readingTag: art crime
Can DNA help combat art forgery?
A new authentication system that would let artists sign their work with a unique, synthetic DNA tag has been developed, and it is receiving support from prominent artists and galleries. Continue reading
What happens if you unwittingly buy a looted artefact?
Is it possible to buy a looted artefact unwittingly?
Coins, jewellery, mosaics, glassware, vases, figurines and other artefacts are reportedly being excavated and smuggled out of Iraq and Syria on an ‘industrial’ scale, to be sold online or in Western dealerships. Continue reading
Updates: Gurlitt Collection: Will challenge rejected, Hildebrand’s documents to be published online, fourth painting identified as looted to be returned
Since our last two articles (here and here) there have been several developments in the ongoing saga of the Gurlitt collection. Continue reading
Should there be a time limit on restitution claims? (Part II)
Further to our previous article on whether there should be an expiration date on restitution claims, a Los Angeles federal judge has denied California’s Norton Simon Museum’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by a woman seeking the return of two paintings in their collection on the grounds that the claimant is too late. Continue reading