Daniel Grant

Taxnews

Internal Revenue Service warns of tax scam targeting collectors

Scheme involves inflating value of donated works to claim bigger tax deductions

University’s plan to fund dormitory renovations by selling art worth $10m, including O’Keeffe landscape painting, clears legal hurdle

Following a county judge’s ruling in favour of Valparaiso University, both sides are making their case to Indiana’s attorney general

Artists, writers, performers and their advocates call on US Congress to ban companies from copyrighting AI-generated art

The AI Day of Action, scheduled for 2 October, comes as US officials consider whether and how to regulate material generated by artificial intelligence

Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s foundation begins to define its scope and goals, including executing the artists’ final, gargantuan project

On the agenda at the first board meeting of the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation was what to do with its more than $150m in assets and how to carry forward the duo’s ultimate piece

MoMA raises ticket price to $30 as US museums face tough choices on entry fees

Many of the biggest art museums in New York and elsewhere have raised the price of general admission to $30, while others continue to pursue free-entry policies

Artist says California city censored his exhibition after local police took offense

Two days after his exhibition at San Mateo City Hall opened, Diego Marcial Rios’s entire show was taken down

Lawnews

US drag show laws are a threat to artistic freedom and an attack on LGBTQ communities, say critics

A wave of local and state legislation “protecting” minors from drag shows has been denounced as a morally subjective, an anti-queer dog whistle, and likely to lead to the censorship of performance art

New US copyright rules protect only AI art with ‘human authorship’

The US Copyright Office has eased its stance in new guidelines, and a decision on a comic book created using artificial intelligence

Lawsuit filed to block university's sale of Georgia O’Keeffe painting to fund dormitory renovations

Indiana-based Valparaiso University is reportedly hoping to raise $20m with the sale of works by O’Keeffe, Childe Hassam and Frederic Church from its museum’s collection

How do US taxpayers value their art collections? With great difficulty

Possible penalties for donors and heirs make the process of determining the value of artworks a high-wire act

American art schools brace for positive discrimination policy ban

With the highest court in the US expected to rule against policies intended to boost student body diversity, universities and colleges are exploring alternative approaches.

Judge dismisses lawsuit brought by Peter Max’s daughter seeking damages from artist’s caregiver

The renowned Pop artist, who has suffered from Alzheimer’s-induced dementia for the better part of a decade, is at the centre of a years-long legal war

Activist prevails over collector Sheldon Solow’s estate in intellectual property dispute related to satiric website

Since 2017, Ethan Arnheim has maintained a website critiquing the Sheldon Solow Foundation’s tax-exempt status, though it does not provide public access to its $500m art collection

In the wake of climate protests and pandemics, collectors are growing wary of loaning art to museums

Prospective lenders are increasingly nervous that their works will be targeted by attacks or be vulnerable to a lack of security during museum closures

AI artnews

Artists and visual media company sue AI image generator for copyright breach

Lawsuits against firm behind Stable Diffusion image generator are recent attempt to define the legal status of such images

Artist’s lawsuit against school that sought to cover up his murals heads to appeals court

A district court sided with the school in late 2021, but artist Sam Kerson hopes an appeals court decision will help keep his Underground Railroad murals on view

Following Basquiat forgery scandal, Orlando Museum of Art placed on probation by US museums group

Loss of American Alliance of Museums accreditation, which the museum has had since 1971, could complicate processes like borrowing works from other institutions

Is the graphic designer who refuses to create websites for same-sex couples an artist?

US Supreme Court justices debate whether obliging a Colorado woman to create wedding websites for same-sex couples violates her free speech rights as an artist

Son of revered realist painter Gregory Gillespie facing prison time over role in 6 January 2021 attack at US Capitol

Vincent Gillespie has been charged with nine federal crimes, including assaulting, resisting or impeding police

Miami—once touted as an NFT hub—suffers through enduring ‘crypto winter’

Amid high-profile bankruptcies of cryptocurrency companies and a dramatically shrinking NFT market, some art world players are pulling back while others double down

Collectors recruit new allies to help museums accept the treasures they are offering

For many museums, the offer of works of art can be more of a headache than a blessing, so potential donors are finding they must do some groundwork to ensure their gift will be accepted—and appreciated

Would you invest in art without seeing it? New scheme invites users to buy into securitised—but unnamed—art loans

Service offered by the New York-based alternative investment platform Yieldstreet promises healthy returns to investors willing to buy "blind"

How does the market judge 'juvenile' work by name-brand blue-chip artists? Two early Warhol paintings are about to find out

Offered next week at Phillip's New York, the works were made during Warhol's student days and bear no resemblance to his signature styles

US government withholds art made by detainees at Guantánamo Bay

Five years ago, a landmark exhibition of art created by detainees began touring the US. But a government U-turn has blocked works from leaving the prison, raising the question: whose art is it?

Art marketanalysis

For US collectors buying in London, the dollar’s strength may be their only advantage

While the relative weakness of the pound this season has given Americans at Frieze more buying power, many other factors may prevent them from making major purchases

NFTnews

Washington becomes first US state to tax NFTs

Although taxing non-fungible tokens is tricky because of uncertainty over where they are sourced, other states look set to follow Washington’s lead

What does New York’s abrupt winding back of auction house regulations mean for the art market?

The houses say they will not change their practices, but the move could mean more opaque bidding and guarantees

Inside the US military’s vast but rarely seen art collection

Many works depict enlisted soldiers’ day-to-day routine while some are even anti-war

Art marketanalysis

Experts fear New York City slashing auction house regulations could erode collector trust and confidence

As the city council cuts auction regulations, the houses say they will not change their practices, but the prospect of more opaque bidding and guarantees may prove irresistible

Looted Roman bust, bought from Texas secondhand store for $34.99, will be returned to Germany

The first-century marble sculpture, likely stolen by an Allied soldier during the Second World War, will go on view at the San Antonio Museum of Art before being repatriated to Bavaria