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New York Investigators Return $600,000 Worth of Looted Art—and More Art Industry News
Plus, artists Mickalene Thomas and David Salle are both facing legal action in separate copyright suits.
Plus, artists Mickalene Thomas and David Salle are both facing legal action in separate copyright suits.
Jo Lawson-Tancred ShareShare This Article
Our weekly news roundup is an extension of Paint Drippings, which drops first in The Back Room, a lively recap funneling only the week’s must-know art industry intel into a nimble read you’ll actually enjoy. Artnet News Pro members get exclusive access—subscribe now to receive this in your inbox every Friday.
– Artissima returns to Turin’s Oval from October 30–November 1 for its 33rd edition. More than 180 galleries are participating, 33 for the first time.
– Contemporary Istanbul marks its 21st edition at the Tersane Istanbul September 23–27 with 70 participating galleries. Pearl Lam Projects (Hong Kong), Takato Kano Gallery (Yokohama), and Whitestone Gallery (Tokyo) are among the newcomers.
– According to the Artnet Price Database, Christie’s brought in $2.7 billion in fine-art sales through June—a 78 percent increase from the same period last year. Sotheby’s saw the biggest year-over-year jump of the major auction houses, up 88 percent to $2.3 billion. Phillips, meanwhile, sold about $260 million in art, a solid 36.4 percent increase over the same period last year but is nowhere near the gains that the houses with access to top-tier 20th-century material realized. (Artnet News)
– Meanwhile, Heritage Auctions just posted its best mid-year total ever: $1.4 billion through June, up 47 percent from last year as the collectibles market booms. If that pace holds, it could beat its own annual record of $2.15 billion, set in 2025. That makes Heritage the third-highest-selling auction house this year, behind only Sotheby’s and Christie’s. (Artnet News)
– The Art Renewal Center, which promotes realism in art, will stage an exhibition of about 100 works from its recent competitions at Sotheby’s headquarters in New York from July 17 to July 27. An accompanying online auction opens July 17.
– The Paris-based art advisor Victoria Mouraux Durand-Ruel, descendant of the legendary dealer Paul Durand-Ruel, is launching Mouraux Durand-Ruel Gallery in New York in September.
– George Condo rejoined the roster at Hauser & Wirth less than a year after his departure. The gallery represents him in collaboration with Sprüth Magers.
– Victoria Miro now represents Clare Wood, Alexander Tovborg joined the roster at New York’s Olney Gleason, and Galerie Lelong now repos Magnus Plessen.
– The International Council of Museums (ICOM) revised its code of ethics for the first time in more than 20 years, updating guidance for museums on digital technology, the climate crisis, and colonial legacies. The new code, adopted in late June at ICOM’s 41st General Assembly in Paris with over 85 percent approval, calls on member institutions to pursue carbon neutrality and reckon with museums’ historical role in colonization.
– Massimiliano Gioni will lead the New Museum. He has served as artistic director since 2014. (Artnet News)
– Meanwhile, David Odo is taking the reins as director and CEO of the Honolulu Museum of Art while Christina Brungardt is heading to Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art to be its new director.
– Thieves made off with around $4.5 million in jewelry from the Lalique Museum in France on the morning of July 5. (France24)
– London’s Serpentine Galleries announced Italian design studio Formafantasma as its new Lead R&D Fellows, Ecology. The new role will consider contemporary design developments through an environmental lens.
– Artist Jean-Marc Bustamante launched the Fonds Bustamante in Arles, France on July 9. The new foundation will preserve the painter’s legacy while spotlighting other artists in temporary exhibitions.
– Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced the return of 59 antiquities worth over $600,000 to Italy, Iraq, and Indonesia. Italy received 48 pieces valued at more than $300,000, 45 of them seized from the Metropolitan Museum, including works acquired from dealers Robert Hecht, Jonathan Rosen, and Fritz Burki. Among them was a terracotta vase, dated to 480–70 B.C.E. and attributed to the famed Troilos Painter. Iraq received nine antiquities worth nearly $300,000, including two Early Dynastic-period Sumerian worshipper sculptures once laundered through the “Rihani Family Collection” and later resold as the “R. Family Collection.” Indonesia received two sacred Dayak skulls from Borneo, seized in 2024. The D.A.’s Antiquities Trafficking Unit has now recovered nearly 6,400 objects valued at over $490 million and returned more than 6,000 to 38 countries.
– Photographer Barbara Karant has filed a lawsuit in Illinois alleging that artist Mickalene Thomas repeatedly used her images without permission. (Artnews)
– David Salle is the subject of a lawsuit filed in California by artist Kelly Reemtsen alleging that his painting Hatchet (2025) copied elements from two of her works. (Artnews)
– A criminal charge for breaching the U.K.’s Russia sanctions brought against Hauser & Wirth by British revenue authorities has been dismissed. The claim centered on the 2022 sale of a George Condo work to a person allegedly connected to Russia. The judge at London’s Southwark Crown Court ruled that the prosecutors had not supplied sufficient evidence proving the buyer was a Russian resident at the time of the sale. (Artnet News)
– The Warhol Foundation named Jewish Museum, the Hammer Museum, and the Anchorage Museum among 78 recipients of its 2026 grants, which allocated over $5 million to visual arts institutions.
– The Fundación Kahlo launched a biennial $50,000 prize for emerging Mexican artists. The inaugural winner will be announced on July 6, 2027.
– The Art Renewal Center, which promotes realism in art, will stage an exhibition of about 100 works from its recent competitions at Sotheby’s headquarters in New York from July 17 to July 27. An accompanying online auction opens July 17.
– Trinidadian sculptor Valerie Brathwaite, known for colorful, biomorphic abstractions, died aged 85. (Artreview)
– Singaporean social realist painter Chua Mia Tee has died aged 94. (Straights Times)
Facts Only
Christie’s fine-art sales reached $2.7 billion through June.
Sotheby’s fine-art sales reached $2.3 billion through June.
Phillips sold approximately $260 million in art through June.
Heritage Auctions reached $1.4 billion in total sales through June.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg returned 59 antiquities worth over $600,000 to Italy, Iraq, and Indonesia.
The International Council of Museums (ICOM) revised its code of ethics in late June.
Massimiliano Gioni is the new lead of the New Museum.
David Odo is the director and CEO of the Honolulu Museum of Art.
Christina Brungardt is the director of the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art.
Photographer Barbara Karant filed a lawsuit against Mickalene Thomas in Illinois.
Artist Kelly Reemtsen filed a lawsuit against David Salle in California.
British revenue authorities dismissed a criminal charge against Hauser & Worth regarding Russia sanctions.
Artissima takes place in Turin from October 30 to November 1.
Contemporary Istanbul takes place from September 23 to 27.
Executive Summary
The global art market is experiencing a period of significant financial growth and institutional transition. Major auction houses, particularly Christie’s and Sotheby’s, have seen substantial year-over-year increases in sales, while Heritage Auctions is approaching record-breaking mid-year totals driven by a booming collectibles market. This economic surge coincides with a shift in leadership at several major museums and the implementation of updated ethical guidelines by the International Council of Museums to address climate change and colonial legacies.
Simultaneously, the industry is grappling with legal and ethical accountability. The return of looted antiquities to their countries of origin and the dismissal of sanctions-related charges against Hauser & Worth highlight the complexities of international law in art commerce. Additionally, high-profile copyright lawsuits against artists Mickalene Thomas and David Salle suggest an intensifying legal scrutiny regarding intellectual property and appropriation in contemporary art.
Full Take
The strongest narrative here is one of "professionalization and rectification." The art world is moving away from the "wild west" era of unregulated acquisitions and appropriation toward a structured environment of ethical codes, legal precedents, and transparent financial reporting.
The pattern is an intersection of institutional correction and market acceleration. On one hand, the ICOM ethics update and the Manhattan DA’s restitution efforts signal a systemic reckoning with colonial-era looting. On the other, the astronomical growth at Sotheby’s and Christie’s indicates that the financial appetite for "top-tier" assets remains aggressive. This creates a tension: the market is expanding in value exactly as the legal risks associated with ownership and attribution are increasing.
The root cause is the transition of art from a purely aesthetic or cultural pursuit into a hyper-financialized asset class. When art becomes a high-stakes investment, the "due diligence" phase—once a formality—becomes a legal necessity, explaining the rise in copyright litigation and the urgency of restitution.
This shift benefits institutional legitimacy and state actors recovering heritage, but it increases the "cost of entry" and legal risk for galleries and collectors.
Patterns detected: none
If this were a coordinated influence campaign to destabilize the art market, the playbook would focus exclusively on the lawsuits and looted art to create a "contagion of doubt" regarding the legality of all private collections. The actual content does not match this; it balances these scandals with record-breaking sales figures, reflecting a complex, functioning market rather than a collapsing one.
Bridge Questions:
1. Does the push for carbon neutrality and colonial reckoning in museums represent a fundamental shift in curation, or is it a performative alignment with current social trends?
2. As appropriation art faces more copyright lawsuits, will the definition of "transformative use" narrow, thereby stifling contemporary artistic expression?