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Cultural Heritage Law Lecture at NYU

Our founder, Leila A. Amineddoleh, will be presenting a lecture for the Department of Art History at New York University on October 7 at 6:30 pm.  Entitled “Cultural Heritage, the Law, and Looting,” Leila’s lecture will examine legal issues related to the trade in cultural heritage items. As a graduate from New York University, our founder is honored to be featured by the Department of Art History, one of the leading art history departments in the world.

The free lecture will be hosted via Zoom, and it is open to the public, but registration is required. Additional details can be found HERE.

A Rogues’ Gallery of Art Crime

A recently recovered painting by Van Gogh

Leila’s curation of the exhibition Art Crime: Looters, Forgers, Thieves & Vandals was featured this week in NYU News’ “A Rogues’ Gallery of Art Crime.” The article discusses Leila’s seminar “Art Crime and the Law,” the first course of its type offered by NYU’s Department of Art History. Like the exhibition, the article examines some of the famous art crimes through history, including illicit activities directed toward fine art, antiquities, and collectibles.  The article also reminds the reader that art crimes are usually not committed by dashing Clooney-like thieves (as incorrectly portrayed by Hollywood’s glamorizing of crime), but by gang members, violent criminals, and opportunists.

The histories of the featured works are intriguing (the selected works include some of the world’s most famous art), and the crimes against them are explored in the display, done in collaboration with research completed by students at NYU. The preparation of the exhibition was a great learning tool that now serves as an engaging exploration of art crime for a general audience. The show was slated to close on March 1, but its run has been extended until the end of the semester, due to it popularity. If you are interested in visiting the exhibition, it is now on display on the second floor of the Global Center at NYU (238 Thompson St, New York, NY 10012).

Looters, Forgers, Thieves, and Vandals– An Art Crime Exhibition in NYC

 

art-crimes-webArt crimes are often portrayed as glamorous, without victims except for wealthy collectors. However, art crime is a multi-billion-dollar industry, with ties to crime syndicates and terrorist organizations, money laundering and extortion, violence and murder, and the narcotics and arms trades. The theft of fine art from private homes and museums often attracts the most attention. On the other end of the spectrum, the illicit trade in antiquities often go unpublicized. This trade harms humanity, destroying our collective history and memory. Crimes are committed when tomb raiders and illicit diggers loot artifacts from the ground and then sell these objects to middlemen and antiquities.

During war, millions of objects are vulnerable to theft and destruction. And since ancient times, art has been used as propaganda. Ancient rulers exhibited looted objects to demonstrate their might over enemies. But art was also obliterated for the same reasons—the destruction of art is a means to degrade an enemy or weaken opposition. Art has also been damaged to make political or social commentary. Although some art criminals remove objects from the market or destroy them, others create forgeries and sell these offending pieces at sky-high prices.

The exhibition, Art Crimes, explores the history of art crimes around the world. It is the first exhibition of its kind, exploring theft, looting, forgeries, and vandalism. Read the press release here: http://www.nyu.edu/about/news-publications/news/2016/december/_art-crime-_-a-visual-documentation-of-stolen–vandalized—-for.html

Art Law This Fall

tumblr_lv8rgjijje1qzji87o1_r1_1280With the summer over, Amineddoleh & Associates is looking forward to a busy autumn full of wonderful art events.
Last week, Amineddoleh & Associates was honored to be featured at Rago Art & Auctions to discuss the topic of vandalism and looting of cultural heritage. Rago Art and Auctions in Lambertville, NJ, midway between Philadelphia and New York City, is a leading U.S. auction house with $33 million in annual sales. The center serves thousands of buyers and sellers internationally, and is regularly featured on the Antiquities Road Show. Rago hosts auctions, offers appraisals and expert opinions, and hosts presentations by leaders in the art world. During Leila’s presentation, she explored the history of heritage looting and vandalism in addition to current issues in conflict zones.
Leila looks forward to speaking at Columbia University later this month during the Fitch Colloquium. Named for the founder of formal preservation education at Columbia University and in the US, the James Marston Fitch Colloquium is held annual at Columbia University. In a day-long colloquium, students, alumni, and guests hear speakers and engage in discussion over current issues in preservation— attempting to discover and define the leading edge of the discipline. Leila will be discussing legal aspects of preservation.
Leila is also enjoying a semester of teaching art and crime topics. In addition to teaching International Art & Cultural Heritage Law at Fordham Law School (she has taught this course each fall semester since 2011), she is teaching at her alma mater, New York University. NYU has one of the top art history departments in the country and so Leila is honored to be teaching Art Crime & the Law there.
This fall, there are also many great art events at museums to enjoy. Leila is pleased to be on the planning committee for “Fall Into Art,” a fundraising party for the museum’s young professionals’ group. The event takes place this Friday evening, and tickets are still available. For another wonderful party this fall, the Hispanic Society of America will be hosting its glamorous annual gala on October 6. Amongst other honorees is Placido Domingo. Tickets are still available, but going fast. Leila is a Co-Chair of the museum’s newly created Young Patrons’ Group.
We wish you a great start to the fall!