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Showing posts with label ARCA Awards. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ARCA Awards. Show all posts

February 19, 2012

Sunday, February 19, 2012 - , No comments

ARCA Announces Nominees for 2012 Awards to be Presented at the International Art Crime Conference in Amelia in June

For the past three years, the Association for Research into Crimes against Art (ARCA) has recognized the professional contributions of four people for the protection of art and cultural property at its International Art Crime Conference in Amelia, the home of the postgraduate certificate program. This month ARCA's Trustees and the Editorial Board of The Journal of Art Crime will again vote for the winners or four awards.

The Award for Art Policing and Recovery (which usually goes to a police officer, investigator, or lawyer). This award has been given to former Director of Scotland Yard's Arts and Antiquities Squad  Vernon Rapley (2009), former Scotland Yard investigator Charlie Hill (2010), and former Italian State prosecutor Paolo Giorgio Ferri (2011). The 2012 nominees for the award for Art Policing and Recovering are Don Hyrycyk, Los Angeles Police Department; Alain Lacoursière, founder of Quebec's Art Theft Squad; Sharon Cohen Levin, Chief of the Asset Forfeiture Unit in the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York; Maurizio Seracini, art historian and scientist searching for Leonardo da Vinci's lost "Battle of the Anghiari" in Florence; and Christos Tsirogiannis, Archaeologist, Illicit antiquities researcher at the University of Cambridge.

The Award for Art Protection and Security (usually goes to a security director or policy-maker); this award has acknowledged the work of former mayor of Rome Francesco Rutelli (2009); Dick Drent, security director of Amsterdam's Van Gogh Museum, (2010); and archaeologist Lord Colin Renfrew (2011). The 2012 nominees for this award are Colonel Mathew Bogdanos, United States Marine Corps Reserves, Senior Investigative Counsel, Assistant District Attorney, New York; Dr. Laurie Rush, manager of the Fort Drum Cultural Resources Program; and (jointly) Karl von Habsburg, President, Association of National Committees of the Blue Shield and Dr. Joris Kila, Chairman, International Military Cultural Resources Work Group.  

The Eleanor and Anthony Vallombroso Award for Excellence in Art Crime Scholarship (to a professor or author). Past winners include Norman Palmer (2009); Larry Rothfield (2010); and Neil Brodie (2011). This year's nominees are Jason Felch and Ralph Frammolino for their book, Chasing Aphrodite; Fabio Isman, Journalist Il Messaggero, Italy; Sandy Nairne, Director of the National Portrait Gallery of London and author of Art Theft and the Case of the Stolen Turners.

The Lifetime Achievement in Defense of Art Award (given to an individual or institution in recognition of many decades of excellence in the field) has been conferred to the Carabinieri Division for the Protection of Cultural Heritage collectively (2009); attorney Howard Spiegler (2010); and cultural property expert John Henry Merryman (2011). This year's nominees are Dr. George Okello Abungu; Colonel Mathew Bogdanos; Mark Dalrymple, Managing Director of Loss Adjuster at Tyler & Co. (Adjusters) Ltd.; Sandy Nairne; and Maurizio Seracini.

The awards will be presented to the winners at the International Art Crime Conference on June 23 and 24 in Amelia, Umbria, Italy.

July 27, 2011

Wednesday, July 27, 2011 - ,,, No comments

Neil Brodie Awarded the Eleanor and Anthony Vallombroso Award for Art Crime Scholarship

Neil Brodie receiving his award
by Mark Durney, Founder of Art Theft Central

At ARCA’s third annual international art crime conference, Neil Brodie was awarded the Eleanor and Anthony Vallombroso Award for Art Crime Scholarship. Brodie is an archaeologist and former director of the Illicit Antiquities Research Centre at the University of Cambridge. Brodie has studied and written extensively on the illicit antiquities trade. His publications include Stealing History: the Illicit Trade in Cultural Material (Cambridge: McDonald Institute, 2000), Trade in Illicit Antiquities: the Destruction of the World's Archaeological Heritage (Cambridge: McDonald Institute, 2001), Illicit Antiquities: the Theft of Culture and the Extinction of Archaeology (London: Routledge, 2002), and Archaeology, Cultural Heritage, and the Antiquities Trade (Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2006) among over thirty other academic papers. In January 2008, Brodie received a Saving Antiquities For Everyone (SAFE) Beacon Award for his significant role in raising awareness of illicit antiquities.

During his acceptance speech, Brodie offered his thanks to Noah Charney for developing an organization that educates students in the many issues related to art crime. Through its conference, academic program, and various publications, ARCA continues to inspire new research and projects aimed at combatting the growing problem. Brodie served as a writer-in-residence during the first six weeks of ARCA’s international art crime and heritage protection studies program.

July 25, 2011

Monday, July 25, 2011 - ,, No comments

ARCA Award for Art Policing & Recovery Given to Paolo Ferri at International Art Crime Conference

Paolo Ferri and Noah Charney (Photo by Urska Charney)
By Catherine Schofield Sezgin

Paolo Giorgio Ferri received ARCA’s Award for Art Policing and Recovery for his work as a former Italian State Prosecutor and his role in the return of many looted antiquities from North American public and private collections. He was the lead attorney in Italy’s cases against The Getty Museum, Marion True, and other American museums for the return of looted antiquities. He now serves as an expert in international relations and recovery of works of art for the Italian Culture Ministry.

Dr. Ferri told the audience, in Italian and through the use of an English translator, that he was delighted to receive the ARCA award, his first major award recognizing his professional accomplishments.

Years ago, Ferri said, exporting of looted antiquities was a fiscal misdemeanor and assisted by the ease with which the items could be cleared through Switzerland. He credited the work of Peter Watson, the author of The Medici Conspiracy, for his investigation into Giacomo Medici that enabled the return of many objects. In addition, the subsequent media coverage increased awareness of the problem of selling cultural heritage.

Regarding resolution of these matters of allegations of stolen antiquities, Dr. Ferri would prefer an international court that would provide more uniform judgments. “This court could possibly be under the offices of UNESCO which recently started offices for mediation and restitution,” Dr. Ferri told the audience.

He proposes that arbitration would expedite these matters and that inexpensive working groups in each state could provide spontaneous information that could ease the return of cultural objects. “The Washington Agreement should help people who hold title in ‘good faith’ and return objects to the original state,” Dr. Ferri said. “The necessity of proof should come from the buyer of good faith.”

The object should be returned to the country of origin who claims it if there is any doubt, Dr. Ferri said. “Cooperation in marco-regions is of extreme importance,” he said.

July 26, 2010

Monday, July 26, 2010 - , No comments

Profile of Howard Spiegler

Nancy Greenleese has a very fine profile of Howard Spiegler for Voice of America.  Mr. Spiegler has been an important advocate in a number of important art and antiquities restitution cases.  Because of this great work he received the 2010 ARCA Award for Lifetime Achievement in Defense of Art.

The audio profile includes highlights of Mr. Spiegler's remarks at the ARCA conference, as well as the comments of Chris Marinello of the Art Loss Register, and historian Marc Masurovsky.

You can listen to the profile here.
  1. Nancy Greenleese, Fighting for Art Justice, Voice of America, http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/american-life/Fighting-for-Art-Justice-99225324.html (last visited Jul 26, 2010).
Howard Spiegler at the 2010 ARCA Conference
(Urska Charney)

July 14, 2010

Wednesday, July 14, 2010 - , No comments

The 2010 ARCA Conference at Palazzo Petrignani

The 2010 ARCA Conference at Palazzo Petrignani in Amelia
I have just returned from beautiful Amelia and the second annual Association for Research into Crimes against Art (ARCA) conference.  Next year's conference will be held July 9-10th in Amelia.  A call for papers and announcement will be posted here in the coming months.

This year the conference was chaired by Founding Director Noah Charney and took place at Palazzo Petrignani at the top of Amelia—a grand setting for the discussion of art crime.  Though the Umbrian sun made the room quite warm at times, the two day conference offered a number of terrific presentations and discussions.  I'd like to draw out a few highlights.  

An International Art Crime Tribunal

Judge Arthur Tompkins delivered the first paper of the conference, discussing what he calls an International Art Crime Tribunal.  Judge Tompkins made a compelling case for the tribunal at last year's conference, and in the edited Art and Crime collection.  Judge Tompkins argued that we need a consistent and fair approach to these art disputes.  He noted that a number of prominent nations of origin like Italy, Greece or Egypt might be initial eager proponents of such a Tribunal; and Rome would perhaps be an ideal venue for the court to sit.  He gave a frank appraisal of the challenges such a Tribunal would face, but noted that the creation of such a tribunal warrants development.  Much like the other international Tribunals and developments had their own champions, and International Art Crime Tribunal would need the same—the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was championed by Eleanor Roosevelt for example.  Judge Tompkins discussed the ongoing dispute over Portrait of Wally, which has stretched on since 1998, comparing it to the Jarndyce v. Jarndyce chancery decision from Dickens' Bleak House.  Perhaps a fair robust Art Crime Tribunal would be better positioned to resolve that dispute in a more timely manner.

File:Egon Schiele 069.jpg
Portrait of Wally, Egon Schiele, subject of a 12-year forfeiture dispute
It was a position challenged however by Howard Spiegler, who was honored at the conference and who also acts as counsel for the successors of Lea Bondi Jaray, who owned the work before fleeing the Nazi's.  Mr. Spiegler argued that none of these parties wanted this dispute to stretch on this long, and that much of the delay was a result of the discovery process which has been an effort to uncover the complicated history of this work since it left Ms. Bondi's possession.  Yet Judge Tompkins responded by noting that the American system of long, protracted discovery does not always promote justice.  It may in some cases, but it also leads to a soul-crushing existence for young lawyers.  Though this research and work is handsomely compensated, it can in my opinion carry a lawyer far from the true practice of law.  That of course is a more general critique, not isolated to the Wally dispute.  Judge Tompkins noted that if a legal system ties the proper adjudication of a claim to one piece of paper or one exchange that may be lost, how can we ever decide a claim?  We are left with an endless search for that one piece of evidence, while the core issues lay unresolved. Though no thinking person would deny the losses during the Second World War, there must be limits to these claims, and we may also consider the loss to the public of a beautiful work of art for nearly 12 years.  Perhaps a Tribunal might allow for future claimants like the Bondi's to pursue their claims, while also allowing for the continued movement of works of art and allowing present possessors to achieve some measure of repose. 

Other Presenters

There were a number of other fine presentations worth mentioning.  Betina Kuzmarov used the dispute of the Qianlong Bronze Heads from the Yves Saint Laurent collection to examine the difficult nature of using objective and subjective standards in cultural property disputes.  Kristen Hower highlighted the importance of histories and proper acquisition of objects by discussing the dilemma faced by art historians in detecting forgeries in Late Antique art, specifically a number of objects known as the Cleveland Marbles.  Chris Marinello discussed the work of the art loss register, pointing out that the ALR has ceased to offer certificates for certain antiquities searches, as the database is unable to effectively determine if these objects have been recently looted from their archaeology.  Jane Milosch discussed the Provenance Research initiatives at the Smithsonian.  Jennifer Kreder and Marc Masurovsky discussed nazi-era spoliation claims from the perspective of the holocaust claimants and their successors.  James Twining discussed his own use of art crime in his popular fiction.  Valerie Higgins discussed the ways in which armed conflict and identity can be remembered and created. 

ARCA Alumni

A number of participants and graduates of last year's ARCA MA program presented their work as well.  Olivia Sladen discussed the importance of due diligence in the art market as it relates to forged works.  Riikka Kongas discussed her work at the Valamo Art Conservation Institute in Finland, discussing the plague of forged Russian icon paintings which are discovered when they are brought in to be conserved.  Catherine Sezgin offered her research on the 1972 theft at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts in 1972.  John Vezeris discussed the work of his company, Annapolis Group International in protecting the works of the historical San Lio church in Venice with Venice in Peril and ARCA.  Colette Marvin analyzed the recent string of art crime exhibits being offered by museums in the United States and Europe. 

ARCA Award Winners

Howard Spiegler, recipient of the ARCA Award for Lifetime Achievement in Defense of Art
Lawrence Rothfield, receiving his Eleanor and Anthony Vallombroso Award for Art Crime Scholarship
Dick Drent, recipient of the ARCA Award for Art Security and Protection












































Charles Hill was unable to attend, but was presented the award for Art Policing and Recovery.

 Next up I'll discuss the comments of Giovanni Pastore, former Vice-Commandant of the Carabinieri Division for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, as well as the comments of Stefano Alessandrini and Maurizio Fiorilli, Italy's Advocate General, both of whom had some interesting comments on the loss of antiquities and on the ongoing dispute over the Bronze Statue of a Victorious Youth currently on display at the Getty Villa. 

Photos of the Conference courtesy of Urska Charney.

(cross-posted at http://illicit-cultural-property.blogspot.com/)

March 12, 2009

Thursday, March 12, 2009 - ,,,,, No comments

ARCA Announcements UPDATED

ARCA 2009 Award Winners
ARCA is pleased to announce the winners of its new annual awards. Each year ARCA will award individuals for their outstanding efforts for the protection and recovery of cultural heritage, and the study of art crime. Awards are voted on by ARCA’s Trustees and the Editorial Board for The Journal of Art Crime. 
The winners of the 2009 ARCA Awards are as follows:

Art Policing & Recovery: Vernon Rapley, Scotland Yard 
Art Security & Protection: Francesco Rutelli, former Italian Minister of Culture 
Art Crime Scholarship: Norman Palmer, King’s College London 
Lifetime Achievement in Defense of Art: Giovanni Nistri, Head of the Carabinieri Division for the Protection of Cultural Heritage 

ARCA honors these individuals for their exemplary work.

Summer Internship in Italy, 2009
ARCA offers a summer internship on location in Amelia, Italy (between Rome and Orvieto) during the Postgraduate Program that we run, from June 1-August 26. Applicants must be proficient in Italian. The work schedule is 25-30 hours per week. Duties include administration, research for our various projects, and aiding students, faculty, and the Dean during the program. Housing in Amelia for the summer and a meal allowance will be provided by ARCA. This presents an excellent opportunity for professional work training in the broad and interdisciplinary field of cultural property protection and work against art crime, while spending a lovely summer in Italy. If you are interested, please thoroughly acquaint yourself with the information about our Program on our website, and contact noah.charney@yale.edu .


ARCA Annual Conference
THE STUDY OF ART CRIME
11-12 July 2009
Amelia, Italy

The focus of this international conference is the academic and professional study of art crime, and how the study of it can help contemporary law enforcement and art protection. ARCA seeks to encourage scholars and students worldwide to turn their attentions to the understudied field of art crime and cultural property protection. The more minds working in the field, and the better the relationship between scholars and professionals (from police to security to the art world), the better protected art will be in the future.

ARCA welcomes submissions of papers for presentation at the conference. Papers should be 20 minutes in length, and should be related to the academic study of art crime or the collaboration between scholars and professionals for the prevention of art crime.

ARCA Members may attend the conference free of charge. A small attendance fee, in the form of a tax-deductible donation to ARCA, is required of attendees who are neither members nor presenters. Tickets may be reserved by email, with limited numbers available.

A complete schedule with further information on the conference, keynote speakers, and beautiful Amelia, Italy, will be available on our website. The conference will include presentation of the 2009 ARCA Awards, and a keynote speech from Col. Giovanni Pastore of the Carabinieri Division for the Protection of Cultural Heritage.

Please send submissions, ticket requests, and inquiries to conference@artcrime.info .

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