Disputes

Post-war art titan Marlborough Gallery to close after 80 years in business

The firm is winding down its operations globally and will sell off an estimated $250m of art

Trio of disputed Rubens paintings must stay in the UK, parliamentary panel rules

Heirs of the German banker Franz Koenigs claim the works housed at the Courtauld Gallery should be restituted

Supreme court ruling concludes lengthy battle over Franz West estate

The Austrian sculptor's art will go to his private foundation overturning previous decision granting ownership to West's widow and children

London artists face eviction from studios of ten years

Landlords have given the community of 25 artists and small businesses one week to leave

London dealer cleared over negligent sale of a Chardin painting

A court has ruled that Simon Dickinson, who advised a British aristocrat to sell an 18th-century French masterpiece for a fraction of what it later sold for, did not deliberately undervalue the painting

Foundation of Victor Vasarely accuses London gallery of selling works by the Op artist that it doesn't own

An exhibition at Mazzoleni Art is embroiled in a longstanding and torrid dispute between members of Vasarely's family

Berlin gallery fights eviction by property company majority-owned by billionaire art patron Nicolas Berggruen

Semjon H.N. Semjon has occupied the property in the city's Mitte district for 21 years and has launched a legal challenge against his landlord

In the art world, divorce—and marriage—can be expensive

Simone Leigh's departure from Hauser & Wirth in favour of Matthew Marks is not the first high-profile artist/gallery split—here are a few more notable break-ups

Blain Southern goes into administration as artists reveal debts owed by gallery

Abrupt closure of three spaces has prompted criticism from some about the way the business was run

Anny Shaw. with additional reporting by Ben Luke

Met's “Riverbank” row rages over attribution debate

Experts prepare to fight it out at the Metropolitan as the painting bought from artist-collector C.C. Wang goes on display

Art marketarchive

New York family at war in legal dispute over sale of multi-million-dollar Reinhardt

Court told that abstract work said to be of “no value” was resold for up to $10m just months later at Art Basel

Trust no one: victory for Gagosian in two-year case

Court concludes that dealers’ statements of value are legally meaningless

Disputesarchive

Gagosian and Perelman urged to settle dispute

Many famous figures of the art world are caught up in the drama

"Ridiculous" case involving possible Malevich, Suetin, and Chashnik fakes continues

The lawsuit, dating back to 2009, is between Russian dealer Gary Tatintsian and Lev Nussberg, an artist, art historian and collector

Lawsuitsarchive

Collector Eskandar Maleki sues long-time friend and adviser Amir Shariat over profits

Maleki alleges deals were undisclosed, Shariat countersues for malicious falsehood and defamation

Hungary takes control of half of Sevso silver

Budapest government strengthens claim for rest of long-disputed hoard after handing over €15m

Lawsuitsarchive

Widow and ex-wife battle over Russian collector Mikhail de Boire’s icons

When his former wife gave part of $30m collection to the Pushkin Museum, his last wife called in lawyers to determine the fate of 75 icons from north Russia

Cambodiaarchive

Demilitarised zone established to protect shelled temple on border between Cambodia and Thailand

Thai army cedes ground but future of Cambodian World Heritage site remains unresolved

Collectorsarchive

Collector settles financial dispute with David Khalili

Farbod Dowlatshahi no longer advisor to Khalili trust

Unescoarchive

Will the success of the Acropolis Museum change the Elgin Marbles debate?

Unesco intergovernmental committee is now seeking “a mutually satisfactory resolution to the issue”

Norton Simon Museum of Art and Goudstikker heiress to go to court over fight for Cranachs

Marei von Saher claims they are Nazi loot, while Norton Simon believes it has legal title to the paintings

Hungary wants to negotiate with Lord Northampton over Sevso silver

Based on its belief that the Sevso silver rightfully belongs to Hungary, the Hungarian government is seeking an out-of-court settlement with Lord Northampton

Tax squabble may force sale of €25m pre-Colombian art collection

Gift to Brussels museum is stalled by dispute between region and state

Author chosen for Bacon catalogue

Diplomacy will be required to deal with warring factions

June 2005archive

'The art trade is the last major unregulated market'

Is it time for reform? Murky dealings came to light in 2005 as more collectors began to enter the scene—and brought their cases to court

Lawsuitsarchive

Collector sues gallery over right to first choice of artists’ work

He was promised preferential treatment (and paid for it) but was then left out of almost all sales