In recent days we have seen a number of high-profile art law suits, both criminal and defensive. Yale University filed for a defensive law suit, to secure its ownership of the star painting in its Yale Art Gallery, the iconic "Night Cafe" by Van Gogh (1888). There have been many headline-grabbing lawsuits brought by grandchildren of the victims of Nazi or Stalinist seizure of artworks, who have filed to have works restored to them, plucked out of museums and private collections. (The dramatic story of the restitution of Malevich paintings will be featured in the first issue of ARCA's Journal of Art Crime). Now we begin to see storied institutions donning legal battle armor in anticipation of a potential lawsuit.

The issue at Yale is with Pierre Konowaloff, the great-grandson of wealthy aristocrat Ivan Morozov, who owned Van Gogh's painting in 1918. The Russian government nationalized and appropriated Morozov's property during the Communist revolution--including the painting, which was later sold by the Soviet government. "Night Cafe" has been hanging in the Yale Art Gallery for more than five decades. In 2008, Konowaloff's attorney asserted his client's ownership title to the painting, and Konowaloff has publicly stated that he wants the title of the painting transferred to the Russian nation, and that he wants to receive financial compensation. Yale declared that it wishes to "remove any cloud over its ownership," pre-empting a suit on the part of Konowaloff to reclaim the painting.

Between an art theft from Yale's Slifka Center linked to a drug and arms dealer, a lawsuit from the descendants of Geronimo to reclaim the skull of the warrior chief that they claim was looted by members of the secret society Skull & Bones and is being used in the society for rituals, and this recent furor over "Night Cafe," Yale has provided a petri dish for the study of art crime over the past two months alone.

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 .