September 23, 2000
CONTENTS:
- Major Auction Houses Will Pay $512 Million to Settle Price-Fixing Case
(a most important settlement since Sotheby's and Christie's control 95% of the global auction activities. T.C.)
- Fire damages old courthouse (AGAIN: construction work caused this fire!)
- RE: Wang Haijun is arrested for stealing and destroying (Gary Yee)
- RE: Wang Haijun is arrested for stealing and destroying (He Shuzhong)
- query: training video museum security (Tom Meighan)
- Re: Monet theft in Poland (Giovanni Garcia)
- Re: Monet theft in Poland (Donald Taglialatella)
- art law New York (Lawrence A. Berglas)
- The ArtsNewspaper weekly news letter (abbreviated)
- special: "Lost Art" Hungary
Major Auction Houses Will Pay $512 Million to Settle Price-Fixing Case
(a most important settlement since Sotheby's and Christie's control 95% of the global auction activities. T.C.)
By CAROL VOGEL and RALPH BLUMENTHAL
Sotheby's and Christie's tentatively agreed today to pay $512 million to settle claims that the world's most powerful auction houses cheated buyers and sellers in a price-fixing scheme that dates back to 1992.
The proposed civil settlement, reported by lawyers but not officially announced, comes as prosecutors for the Justice Department are stepping up efforts to wind up a three-year criminal investigation into whether the two auction giants stiffled competition by colluding on a host of business practices.
Although the proposed settlement, one of the largest in antitrust history, did not specify how the money would be raised, lawyers said that in addition to the auction houses themselves, the settlement could include payments from top executives including A. Alfred Taubman, the former Sotheby's chairman who is still a majority shareholder, and Diana D. Brooks, its former chief executive. Both abruptly resigned in February and are under investigation by federal prosecutors.
Lawyers involved in the negotiations said the agreement was reached late Thursday night at the offices of Weil Gotshal & Manges, the law firm representing Sotheby's, and included Christie's counsel, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom as well as the lead counsel representing the more than 120,000 angry buyers and sellers, Boies, Schiller & Flexner of Armonk, New York and Hanover, New Hampshire.
Michael L. Weiner of Skadden Arps declined to comment, referring calls to a public relations spokesman for Christie's who did not respond. A spokesman for Sotheby's said last night he had no immediate information. A message left for a Sotheby's lawyer, Greg Danilow, was not returned. Members of the Boies firm said they would have no comment. The agreement will not be formally announced until Judge Lewis A. Kaplan of the Southern District Court rules on the settlement, a decision that is expected soon. Under the agreement the boards of both auction houses are required to vote on it by Sept. 30.
Under todday's proposed agreement, Sotheby's and Christie's would each pay $256 million. Half of the payment is due within 30 days and the remainder after final court approval. Each auction house has the option of substituting up to $50 million of its payment in certificates, which would be transferable, towards future consignments.
In addition to the $256 million that each auction house would be required to pay, they would also have to split the costs of notifying the 120,000 buyers and sellers as well as such administrative cost like the processing and distributing of claim forms, and expenses that could well run close to $1 million, people familiar with the case said.
The case grew out of the Federal antitrust investigation that focuses on documents that court papers say record years of secret meetings by top auction house officials of Sotheby's and Christie's aimed at colluding on fees paid to buyers and sellers as well as other business decisions. The investigation began more than three years ago but it was thought to have been dormant until January when the Justice Department's antitrust office in New York received more than 100 pages of documents - memorandums and notes of secret meetings that took place between Christopher M. Davidge, a former Christie's chief executive and Diana D. Brooks, his counterpart at Sotheby's. (Mr. Davidge resigned from his job on Christmas eve, Mrs. Brooks stepped down in February, along with Mr. Taubman) The documents also contain reports of these meetings by Mr. Davidge to Anthony Tennant, then chairman of Christie's.
Along with providing the documents, Christie's agreed to cooperate with the federal investigation. In exchange for its help, the company was granted a form of leniency called conditional amnesty, with the provision that its cooperation be complete and truthful. Christie's general counsel, Jo Backer Laird, discolosed the cooperation on Jan. 28.
Under antitrust law, the first participant in a cartel to agree to cooperate with the government can receive leniency, including reducing fines and the likelihood that no criminal charges will be filed. But such an ageement has no bearing on the class action lawsuit.
From: Jack Watts firesafe@middlebury.net
Organization: Fire Safety Institute
Subject: [Fire Safe Heritage]: Fire damages old courthouse
++++++AGAIN: Fire caused by construction work!+++++++++
This proves once again that precautionairy messages are of the utmost importance whenver construction work is performed. How many museums and libraries do have instructions for contractors?
Remember the fires at Windsor Castle, and the Hofburg in Vienne, Austria.
Ton Cremers
MIDDLEBURY - A fire at Middlebury College's Center for Educational Technology closed sections of Court Square Monday afternoon. The center, which has been undergoing restoration, caught fire in the cupola of the landmark building, which was the Addison County Courthouse through 1995.
Middlebury Fire Chief Rick Cole said he understood the fire had started when painters were peeling paint with heat guns as part of the restoration work. He said the fire, which was the first in the building in at least 25 years, was fairly small but complicated due to the structure and the new construction. "You have to take it slow and easy," Cole said.
The freshly restored cupola roof, completed just days before the fire, proved an obstacle to the firefighters because of the newness of the construction. Cole called out most of the Middlebury Fire Department to fight the fire. He said the New Haven Fire Department was called to assist at the scene as well as to cover the Middlebury station while the department was at the old courthouse. When he decided he wanted an additional ladder truck, Cole called Vergennes, which responded with the one ladder truck requested. Cole said there were no injuries to firefighters. Damage to equipment in the high-tech building was also minimal.
Inside the building, the firefighters had covered computers and office desks with plastic, which saved most of the computers from water damage resulting from the firefighters and sprinkler system.
A couple of offices in the front of the building were destroyed by water damage, but the main teaching spaces and most offices were damp but not seriously affected, according to Marsha DeBonis, assistant director of Project 2001, the college organization that occupies the building.
Copyright © 1997-2000 The Addison County Independent
In a follow-up conversation with Chief Cole, he said the officer in charge was told that heat guns were being used and a piece of pealing paint ignited and blew inside the cupola where it ignited exposed wood. Hmmm...
John M. Watts, Jr., Ph.D., Director
Fire Safety Institute, P.O. Box 674, Middlebury, VT 05753 USA
voice/fax: (802) 462-2663 email: firesafe@middlebury.net
URL: http://middlebury.net/firesafe/
From: Gary Yee gyee@famsf.org
Subject: RE: Wang Haijun is arrested for stealing and destroying.........
Not to defend the Communist Chinese, but when I visited Tibet a couple years ago, the Monasteries had been reopened for some time; including the Mosque in Llasha. Religion is no longer seen as the threat it once was since the economic power has largely been destroyed (land, cattle, other livestock seized and redistributed). The Chinese realized they lost the war against religion when the Dalai Lama's brother visited and the Tibetans prostrated themselves, at that time punishable, before him. This is after over 30 years of suppressing religion. Afterwards, they took a pragmatic approach and reopened the monasteries.
_________________________________________
From: "wyxhsz" hsuzhong@public2.east.cn.net
Subject: Re: RE: Wang Haijun is arrested for stealing and destroying...
...
We read your comments with interests. Unfortunately, we can not agree with you about the case. The thieves not only destroy many important and rare cultural properties, but also hurt Chinese people's feelings severely. The most important point is: they breach the criminal law of China and should be punished according to law. We believe that all people in the world, including you, would feel angry on such crime. Because the thieves also damage the common heritage of the whole human beings. Please remember that Chinese people have the same feeling and judgement with you. By the way, any accusation to any people (including government) should be supported with full evidence. We think the best way to concern with Tibet is to do something specific for the protection of cultural heritage in Tibet.
Regards. Cultural Heritage Watch.
From: "Tom Meighan" tmeighan@vanartgallery.bc.ca
Subject: video
Can anyone please let me know where I might obtain training videos for
Gallery/Museum security. Any recommendations would also be appreciated.
Cheers
Tom Meighan
Security/Visitor Services
Vancouver Art Gallery
+++++++++ Try Steve Keller at steve@stevekeller.com
T.C.
From: Giovanni Garcia GGarcia@artnet.com
Subject: Re: Monet theft in Poland
Tom Reeve wrote:
I was interested to read your e-mail bulletin about the Monet theft. Is this kind of deception a common ruse, or is this unique in your view?
Thanks, Tom
Monks at St. Josaphat's Monastery in Lattingtown, Long Island, suffered a similar swap after two rare antique English chairs from the 16th- and 18th-century were exchanged for poorly made replacements over the weekend, according to Newsday. The fakes reportedly still smelled of fresh paint.
http://www.newsday.com/coverage/current/news/wednesday/nd6387.htm
Giovanni Garcia-Fenech
Artnet Magazine News
http://www.artnet.com/magazine/frontpage.asp
artnet.com 61 Broadway, 23rd Floor
New York, New York 10006
tel: 212/497-9700, ext. 568
fax: 212/497-9707
ggarcia@mail.artnet.com
From: WorldHousG@aol.com
Subject: Monet theft in Poland
The Monet theft in Poland reminds me somewhat of the "Thomas Crown Affair."
I wouldn't put it past someone---life often imitates art.
Your thoughts?
With regards,
Donald
Donald Taglialatella
World House Gallery
Headquartered in South Orange by appointment
Roaming Exhibitions in New York
973 762 3131 fax 762 2831
From: "Lawrence A. Berglas" berglas@artbizlaw.com
Subject: art law new york
Based in Westchester County, New York, I have an eclectic practice focused on arts, copyright, trademark, new media, Internet, wills, trusts, estates, and general business issues.
See more info at my website: http://www.artbizlaw.com
I am also a Host of the Commercial Law Channel at USLaw.com for which I write weekly articles on intellectual property and commercial law issues. Recent articles of mine can be found by searching under my last name at USLaw.com.
--
Lawrence A. Berglas
Attorney at Law
http://www.artbizlaw.com
17 Gilbert Place
White Plains, New York 10604
Tel. (914) 448-9448
Fax (914) 448-9447
Conference/Meetings at:
50 Main Street, Ste.974
White Plains, New York
(abbreviated message)
From: newsletter@theartnewspaper.com
Date sent: Fri, 22 Sep 00 18:32:05 W. Europe Daylight Time
To: "info@artcrime.ws"info@artcrime.ws
Subject: ARCHBISHOP RECLAIMS WAR LOOT IN NEW UK CLIMATE
The Art Newspaper.com
http://www.theartnewspaper.com
This week's top stories:
ARCHBISHOP RECLAIMS WAR LOOT IN NEW UK CLIMATE
LONDON. Archbishop of Benevento last month made a formal claim to the UKĘs Spoliation Advisory Panel and the British Library for a twelfth-century missal which was looted from the Benevento cathedralĘs chapter library in 1943.
http://www.allemandi.com/TAN/news/article.asp?idart=3215
THE BARNES FOUNDATION: GOING BUST?
PHILADELPHIA. For almost eighty years, the Barnes Foundation, the best single collection of Post-Impressionist paintings in the US, has been run on its endowment and according to strict rules laid down by its founder, Dr Albert C. Barnes (1872-1951). Now, the Barnes Foundation is running out of money.
http://www.allemandi.com/TAN/news/article.asp?idart=3173 ARTISTS' RIGHTS FLOUTED
NEW YORK. However hideous a public work of art may be (and they are, as we all know, capable of exceptional hideousness), subsequent decisions to destroy or transform these works without any consultation usually reveals equally hideous corporate thinking. A case in point is 'Self-watering tetrahedrons' by Terry Fugate-Wilcox which was commissioned in 1989 for an atrium in Newark by Prudential.
http://www.allemandi.com/TAN/news/article.asp?idart=3171
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special: "Lost Art" WW.II loot in Hungary
From: "Valer Dubrovskiy" dubrovskiyvaler@hotmail.com
To: securma@xs4all.nl
Date sent: Fri, 22 Sep 2000 11:34:18 CEST
Dear friends,
I would like to call to your attention our web site "Lost Art" ( http://www.extra.hu/dialog).
The web site deals with the theft of Jewish cultural treasures in Hungary during World War II. The site includes a unique virtual museum containing over 170 works of art which had been stolen during the war and are, at present, in Russian museums. The world knows about the Holocaust in Hungary and its more than 600,000 victims. But no one talks about the other Holocaust, the cultural one, that victimized Hungarian Jews. In the course of just one decade - 1938-1948 - the Jews of that country were robbed four times. From 1938 until October 1944 they were robbed by the Horty government. Then came the nazis and the Hungarian fascists under Szalasi. Then, in 1945, the Soviets created commissions to engage in more looting. Finally, after the war, property that had been left behind or had been returned by the Allies was appropriated by their own "comrades", some of them Jewish, like Rakosi, Farkas and others. Today we witness the final and most horrifying stage of this tragedy, the time of silence.
In July 1996 Russia enacted the FEDERAL LAW ON CULTURAL VALUES REMOVED TO THE USSR AS A RESULT OF WORLD WAR II AND LOCATED IN THE TERRITORY OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION. Chapter II, article 8/4 of this law defines which valuables are subject to being returned:
"Cultural values that used to belong to individuals who were deprived of these values because of their active fight against Nazism (Fascism), including their participation in national resistance movements against the occupation regimes of former enemy states and collaboration regimes, and (or) because of their race, religion or nationality"
Since practically all (more than 95%) of the works of art seized by the Red Army in Hungary and later in Berlin, (brought there by the Eichmann Sondrekommando) belonged to Jews, that is Holocaust victims, it would seem that the problem of returning the stolen works of art had been solved. However, the Hungarian authorities - both currently and in the past - have not only disregarded the opportunity to apply this law but haven't even made any mention of the possibility of restitution as outlined in Chapter 8 of the Federal law. The community, which is not all that familiar with the problem, is constantly subjected to attempts designed to show that further activity on this question is futile. The media have also played an important part in this. In Hungary it is permissible to write about everything except the return of stolen Jewish cultural valuables. In a country, where the fangs of antisemitism are noticed more and more often, where an anti-Jewish political party is part of the parliament (and by the way, no one in the world pays the slightest attention to this), where the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" are printed and widely distributed, and where, albeit silently, Haider has much support, it is simply dangerous to speak of restitution and its Jewish context. The museums of Hungary still hold many works of art that were confiscated from Jewish citizens both during the war and in the immediate post-war years. Judging by the refusal in the case of the heiress of Baron Herzog, the 75-year old Martha Nierenberg, granddaughter of Baron Mor Lipot Herzog, the government is not prepared to return them. Unfortunately, the Jewish organizations in Hungary which could be influential in this matter but which are totally dependent on the government - just as similar ones are throughout all of Eastern Europe - do nothing (or don't want to do anything).
In 1944, the Hungarian government betrayed its Jewish citizens by turning them over to Eichmann's bandits.
Today, by refusing to help in the return of possessions they had themselves confiscated, the Hungarian government is betraying them once again. This betrayal is just as terrifying because it betrays the only thing that the victims left behind them - their memories. The 600,000 victims who were burned in the Auschwitz ovens cannot stand up for themselves and make a response to those who defile their memories. But we, who are alive, we can do this and we must! Every possession that is returned, regardless of its cultural or monet ary value, is a small stone of memory on their graves. We must force the Hungarian government to use the right, given by Russian low of restitution! In this way we hope to get some support of the world public opinion. If you believe as we do, join us. Than more people in the world,including your country (figures of the culture, scientific intellectuals, businessmen, politicians) should learn of this little-known side of history and events of the present days, that more actively we shall be able to influence upon the Hungarian government in this questition. For this purpose we are ready to arrive to you with series of lectures on this subject. We are going to talk about the values, not only stolen from Hungary, but from other european countries, too. There is possibility to organize a mobile exhibition, talking about these events. Also we can talk about our searching in museums and archives of the CIS's countries.
If more people throughout the world will know about this tragedy and will do something about it, there will be less of a chance of success for those who believe that the Holocaust is a tiresome and boring story or just a Jewish invention.
This web site is dedicated to the memory of all our brothers and sisters - victims of the Holocaust.
Submitted by request of the cultural-historical society "Dialog 2000", Valer Dubrovsky, secretary.