Date sent: Thu, 3 Apr 1997 18:23:10 +-100

"Art Loans" by Professor Norman Palmer, Rowe & Maw Professor of Commercial Law, Faculty of Laws, University College, London, UK. ISBN 90-411-0667-7 This book will be published in mid 1997 by the International Bar Association in association with Kluwer Law International 1997 ( further details from Kluwer Law International at : services@wkap.nl )

Extract from a recent Press Release from the IBA and Kluwer Law International:

"Art loans arouse acute public interest, as the recent Cezanne and Vermeer exhibitions have shown. But few people realise the legal risks and demands that these immensely valuable transactions impose. This book sets out to repair that omission. It is over twenty years since the General Conference of UNESCO called on the nations of the world to adopt more effective legal initiatives for promoting all forms of exchange of cultural objects including loans and exhibitions. The aim of this unique new work is to examine how those nations have responded to the challenge, and to give a detailed analysis of the legal and practical mechanics of art lending. Drawing on four years; research and an unrivalled knowledge of the common law of personal property, the author explores the pitfalls which lurk within every art loan, charts the modern trend towards uniformisation and seeks to assess the place of the modern art loan as a medium of cultural exchange. Both domestic and international art lending are covered and full treatment is given to international touring exhibitions. The author's inquiry extends along three main dimensions: a theoretical survey of the legal doctrines which bear upon art loans in chosen jurisdictions; a commentary on the standard forms of lending and borrowing agreements in common use, having regard to the underlying doctrine; and an analysis of the attitudes of museum officials and others to the operation of law and practice in the field. The book sets out to identify in logical sequence the legal issues which might arise from a loan or exhibition, giving due emphasis to each aspect according to its practical importance and the depth of treatment it receives in the standard forms."

Note : Professor Palmer deals with a number of case histories of Art Loans that have gone wrong including the Denney Art Loan to the Dallas Museum of Art which was removed by means of forged letters in 1990 and ended up in Toulouse, details of which can be found at:
Denney Paper