Hodgson Russ has an experienced team of attorneys available to provide clients with the full spectrum of legal services concerning works of art, the art market, and the art world. Attorneys in this practice provide advice and counsel to buyers and sellers of major works, auction houses, trusts and estates with significant art collections, collectors, galleries, museums, and individual artists.  We provide assistance in various areas, including litigation, challenges to ownership, provenance issues, auctioning/selling property, import/export issues, intellectual property, trusts and estates, tax, wealth management, planned transfers of art, and tax audits.

Buyers and Sellers

We advise buyers and sellers, at public and private sales, on agreements, contracts, authenticity, licensing and copyright issues. We also advise buyers and sellers in litigated and non-litigated disputes over ownership and the value of works. Our attorneys also represent fiduciaries of estates and trusts concerning the valuation and disposition of significant art collections.

Tax Planning

We provide sophisticated tax advice to art collected as part of an estate plan, and on the income and transfer tax aspects of dispositions as well as gifts and loans to museums, charities, and other institutions.  Attorneys in the practice also provide assistance with collection audits and valuations, auction, and private sale consignment negotiations.

Museums and Other Art Institutions

We provide legal services to various arts and cultural institutions. Services for these organizations include employee benefit and employment law concerns, tax-exempt organization regulatory advice, corporate governance, director and officer liability issues, real estate, endowment and capital campaigns, and assistance regarding fundraising activities.

Storage and Transport

We advise clients who work in the art world on matters relating to the handling, storage, shipping, and installation stages of relocating artwork. Attorneys in the practice also represent owners when dealing with insurance compensation and valuation for lost or damaged artwork.