Art scholars fear authentication lawsuits, cont’d

by Walter Olson on December 16, 2011

The Art Newspaper takes up a trend we’ve noted before in this space:

In New York, the art lawyer Ronald Spencer, of Carter, Ledyard and Milburn, agrees with Sanig. “This is a very serious problem. Specialists are often academics earning $100,000 [or less] a year and they can’t afford litigation they are fearful of being a defendant in a lawsuit, even if they should win.” He admits that there are more of these cases in the US: “It’s a cliché, but we are more litigious here.” He says that the US system, whereby the plaintiff does not have to pay the legal fees of the successful defendant, encourages this.

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{ 2 comments }

1 mojo 12.19.11 at 12:23 pm

Ah, but what is the difference between a perfect copy and an original?

I think most art “experts” are faking it.

2 Ron Miller 12.19.11 at 1:40 pm

He “admits” there are more of these cases in the U.S.

I hate this. Why write “admits” when it underscores the thesis the author is making?

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