|
Ancona Law
Art Law
 Art
law encompasses all of the legal matters that may be
involved in the purchase, ownership and sale of fine art of
all types. Attorney Vincent J. Ancona advises and assists
clients, primarily private collectors but also dealers and
artists, on a wide variety of matters and issues. These
include:
-
Negotiating the purchase and sale of works of art;
-
Serving as an escrow agent for sale proceeds;
-
Drafting and reviewing contracts, bills of sale, and
other legal documents;
-
Interpreting and evaluating the terms of auction house
contracts and dealer contracts and warranties;
-
Negotiating and litigating disputes over breaches of
warranties, title, authenticity, and provenance
Seeking a lawyer’s advice can facilitate the exchange of
information, improve the potential for closing deals, and
minimize the risks associated with buying and selling fine
art. For example, parties may be willing to allow attorneys
to exchange and confirm information that they would not
otherwise be willing to divulge prior to the actual
conclusion of a sale (or even after the sale). A lawyer with
experience in art transactions will be sensitive to facts
indicating that a party claiming to own a work or wishing to
buy a piece may actually be a broker for a third party.
A lawyer can also advise a client concerning the risks that
a work may not be authentic or may be stolen or looted and
at risk of being claimed by a third party or foreign
country. For example, authenticity may not be an issue when
buying a well known work by a living artist, but can be an
issue that should be covered by express warranties when
buying an older work by an artist who did not always sign
their pieces or who were imitated by other artists while
they were alive. With some 20th century European Art,
provenance can be a significant issue. Surprisingly, works
of art continue to surface which were looted by the Nazis or
obtained by the Nazis through forced sales from Jewish
owners and dealers. In collecting Pre-Columbian art in
Mexico and South America it is important to know when a work
was discovered, and whether the country of origin has
statutes establishing their ownership of all Pre-Columbian
pieces excavated after a certain date. Certain North
American Indian artifacts may never be sold or owned by
individuals, some may be owned by only Native Americans.
We have handled the sale of important works of art in all
price ranges both locally and nationally.
|
Criminal
