The Art Law Podcast

Maggie Hoag, Senior VP and Deputy General Counsel at Christie's, shares her fascinating journey from art intern to a top art lawyer. She delves into the evolving role of legal work at auction houses and the impact of globalization on art law. Maggie discusses the importance of direct communication with sellers to resolve issues efficiently and shares insights on integrating legal teams into business strategies. She also offers advice for aspiring art lawyers on training and gaining practical experience in this unique field.

Steve and Katie speak with art market regulatory and compliance expert Jane Levine about the state of anti-money laundering regulations in the art world and the efficacy and limitations of new legislation proposed in the United States. Notes for this episode: https://artlawpodcast.com/2025/10/14/the-art-market-integrity-act-are-aml-regulations-finally-coming-to-the-us-art-market/ Follow the Art Law Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artlawpodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@artlawpodcast Katie and Steve discuss topics based on news and magazine articles and court filings and not based on original research unless specifically noted.

Katie and Steve speak with Swiss art lawyer Florian Schmidt-Gabain about Switzerland's (very) recent establishment of an "Independent Committee for Cultural Property with a Burdened Past" that will hear ownership disputes about Nazi-looted art as well cultural property acquired during the colonial era. They discuss why it has taken the Swiss so long to establish a process like this, the unique role of Switzerland during WWII, the challenges of the mostly voluntary and non-binding process, and the many questions that remain open as implementation unfolds. Notes for this episode: https://artlawpodcast.com/2025/09/04/switzerland-starts-to-address-cultural-property-with-a-burdened-past/ Follow the Art Law Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artlawpodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@artlawpodcast Katie and Steve discuss topics based on news and magazine articles and court filings and not based on original research unless specifically noted.

Guests Stephen Urice, a law professor at the University of Miami specializing in art law, and Simon Frankel, a judge and Stanford law instructor, discuss their careers and the revision of the crucial textbook, 'Law, Ethics, and the Visual Arts.' They delve into the evolution of art law education, emphasizing the importance of engaging with contemporary issues such as cultural property ownership and artistic authenticity. The conversation also highlights innovative teaching methods to tackle complex topics and encourages interactive debates to enhance student engagement.

Katie and Steve discuss the recent decision by the New York Supreme Court granting the Manhattan District Attorney request for a turnover order directing the Art Institute of Chicago to return a drawing by Egon Schiele, "Russian War Prisoner," that the museum acquired in 1966. Katie and Steve review the history of the ownership of the drawing by Fritz Grünbaum, a cabaret singer who was killed by the Nazis in 1941, and the legal proceedings involving his art collection leading up to this controversial decision. Notes for this episode: https://artlawpodcast.com/2025/07/01/an-update-on-the-manhattan-das-turnover-proceeding-against-the-art-institute-of-chicago/ Follow the Art Law Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artlawpodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@artlawpodcast Katie and Steve discuss topics based on news and magazine articles and court filings and not based on original research unless specifically noted.

Steve and Katie speak with Swiss art lawyer Anne Laure Bandle about the subject of her book "The Sale of Misattributed Artworks and Antiques at Auction" - the problem of "sleepers," or misattributed and undervalued works of art sold at auction. We all dream of buying a painting at a yard sale that we later discover to be worth millions of dollars. On this podcast, we discuss the market incentives and structures that prevent discovery of sleepers. Notes for this episode: https://artlawpodcast.com/2025/04/24/the-problem-of-sleepers/ Follow the Art Law Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artlawpodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@artlawpodcast Katie and Steve discuss topics based on news and magazine articles and court filings and not based on original research unless specifically noted.

Steve and Katie welcome back Professor Amy Adler to discuss the First Amendment's free speech protections as they apply to artistic expression in the context of several recent incidents. Specifically, they discuss the police seizure of certain Sally Mann photographs from the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth in the context of obscenity and child pornography laws, the removal of the For Freedoms billboard depicting the march on Selma in Montgomery, Alabama, and the lawsuit about the Nirvana "Nevermind" album cover depicting a naked baby. Notes for this episode: https://artlawpodcast.com/2025/03/25/updates-on-art-free-speech-and-government-censorship/ Follow the Art Law Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artlawpodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@artlawpodcast Katie and Steve discuss topics based on news and magazine articles and court filings and not based on original research unless specifically noted.

Katie and Steve speak with renowned German art lawyer Dr. Katharina Garbers-von Boehm about the law of title in Germany as it applies to art, including the concepts of good and bad faith in considering ownership, the legal primacy of possession, and the doctrine of adverse possession that allows possessors of stolen property, like Nazi-looted art, to take good title after a certain number of years. They discuss differences under U.S. law, particularly with respect to stolen property, soft laws that encourage voluntary actions that the law may foreclose, and recent German law developments surrounding Nazi-looted art. Notes for this episode: https://artlawpodcast.com/2025/02/21/the-law-of-stolen-art-in-germany/ Follow the Art Law Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artlawpodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@artlawpodcast Katie and Steve discuss topics based on news and magazine articles and court filings and not based on original research unless specifically noted.

Katie and Steve speak with their colleague Eden Burgess and guest Dr. Ndubuisi C. Ezeluomba, Curator of African Art at the Virginia Museum of Fine Art and an expert in Benin Bronzes, about the artistic history of Benin City in current day Nigeria, the fate of the Benin Bronzes that dispersed around the world after the British invasion and looting of Benin Kingdom in 1897, and how we should think about ownership and possession of these valuable objects today. Notes for this episode: https://artlawpodcast.com/2025/01/13/who-should-control-the-benin-bronzes/ Follow the Art Law Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artlawpodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@artlawpodcast Katie and Steve discuss topics based on news and magazine articles and court filings and not based on original research unless specifically noted.

Steve and Katie speak with former SCH colleague Rebecca Fine, now CEO of Athena Art Finance, about her career, how art finance is structured and diligenced, who art finance is for, and the risks that Athena and other lenders try to mitigate. Notes for this episode: https://artlawpodcast.com/2024/11/18/the-ins-and-outs-of-art-finance/ Follow the Art Law Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artlawpodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@artlawpodcast Katie and Steve discuss topics based on news and magazine articles and court filings and not based on original research unless specifically noted.