Art may be in the eye of the beholder, but art valuation for tax purposes is in the eye of the IRS.

Improper deductions based on inflated art valuations are now in the agency’s crosshairs, part of an ongoing expansion of audit and investigations into charitable deductions for art

Continue Reading Avoiding IRS Art Donation Audits Requires an Up‑Front Checklist

A September 27, 2023 decision by a Manhattan trial court, Aicon Art LLC v. Aicon Contemporary LLC, No. 650580/2023, 2023 N.Y. Slip. Op. 33340(U) (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Sept. 27, 2023), involving a dispute between two businesses located in the same art gallery, serves as a reminder to New York

Continue Reading Aicon Art LLC v. Aicon Contemporary LLC:  A Reminder About the Importance of Knowing Who the Client Is

On February 4, 2022, the Treasury Department published its Study on the Facilitation of Money Laundering and Terror Finance Through the Trade in Works of Art (the “Report”).[1] To the surprise of many and the relief of the U.S. art market, the Report concluded that there was no immediate
Continue Reading U.S. Treasury Study Rejects Immediate Need for New Regulation of Art Market

On June 8, 2021, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled in Beierwaltes v. Federal Office of Culture of the Swiss Confederation that the temporary seizure in Geneva of antiquities belonging to Colorado-based art collectors conducted by Swiss authorities, as part of a Swiss police investigation,
Continue Reading Swiss Miss: The Second Circuit Rejects Application of Expropriation Exception to Seizure of Antiquities by Swiss Law Enforcement Officers

On February 3, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of Germany in a dispute over whether American courts may preside over a lawsuit brought by the heirs of German Jewish art dealers who alleged that the Nazi regime coerced the 1935 sale of certain artworks.

Background

As
Continue Reading The U.S. Supreme Court Unanimously Holds in Favor of Germany and Against Heirs of German Jewish Art Dealers in Case Involving Nazi-Era Sale of Guelph Treasure

On January 1, 2021, Congress voted to override President Trump’s veto of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021,[1] which includes provisions that will have significant implications for the antiquities market, and could eventually impact the art market as well.

The New Legislation Extends Bank Regulations to
Continue Reading National Defense Authorization Act Imposes Anti-Money Laundering Regulations on Antiquities Market and Calls For Study on Role of Art Market in Money Laundering

On October 30, 2020, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”), which administers and enforces American economic sanctions, issued an advisory titled “Advisory and Guidance on Potential Sanctions Risks Arising from Dealings in High-Value Artwork” (the “Advisory”).  OFAC considers “high-value” any artwork valued at over
Continue Reading OFAC Issues Advisory on Sanctions Risks in Dealing with High-Value Artwork

On August 14, 2019, Judge Lorna Schofield of the Southern District of New York entered an Opinion and Order in The Art & Antique Dealers League of America, Inc. v. Seggos, 18 Civ. 2504, ruling on the constitutionality of provisions of New York State Environmental Conservation Law § 11-0535-a
Continue Reading Art Dealers’ First Amendment Argument Against New York State Ivory Law Survives Motion to Dismiss

Last year, two trade groups of New York-based art and antiques dealers brought claims against New York State officials in the federal court for the Southern District of New York, seeking to invalidate a 2014 New York law that opens dealers up to criminal penalties for buying and selling antique
Continue Reading Arts and Antiques Dealers Await Judge’s Ruling on Challenge to Strict New York State Ivory Law