The Art Newspaper

Arman family divided

Split over museum loan

By Gareth Harris. From Art Basel Miami Beach daily edition
Published online: 01 December 2011

Arman's "La Tulipe", 2001

nice. Plans to open a museum in the south of France devoted to the artist Arman are in jeopardy after the late sculptor’s daughter and sister objected to the proposal by Corice Arman, his widow.

She has lent, on a long-term basis, one of his major works, La Tulipe, 2001, above, a ­destroyed Triumph Spitfire classic car, to the Musée d’Art Moderne et d’Art Contempo­rain in Nice. Marion Moreau, the artist’s ­eldest daughter, and his sister, Anne Fernandez, are opposed to the loan and have reservations about the museum scheme.

Litigation

“It’s public knowledge that the estate has not been settled,” says Moreau, speaking to the French web publication Le Quotidien de l’Art. The proposed museum has the support of Christian Estrosi, the deputy mayor of Nice.

Moreau and other family members are contesting the 2005 legal document that states that Corice Arman is the heir to Arman’s estate. A court hearing is expected to take place early next year. “An Arman museum can only be developed if the ­legal situation is resolved,” Moreau says, but a spokeswoman for Corice Arman stresses that the widow is the sole beneficiary of the artist and the holder of moral rights to Arman’s work.

Moreau says: “Corice has loaned a work that does not belong to her… if she had given a piece from her private collection, we would not have foreseen any problems.” However, Corice Arman’s spokeswoman says that the work is “not a joint possession”. Arman is represented by Galerie Thomas (B10) at the fair.