Warfare of Art & Law Podcast

Hon. Simon Frankel & Prof. Stephen Urice on the 6th Edition of LEVA: Law, Ethics, and the Visual Arts

Stephanie Drawdy Season 7 Episode 165

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0:00 | 53:27

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Please visit LEVA, 6th Edition's site to learn more. 

Show Notes:

0:00 Prof. Stephen Urice describes Law, Ethics, and the Visual Arts 

1:30 Urice's background 

3:25 Hon. Simon Frankel's background

6:00 SU: evolution of Law, Ethics, and the Visual Arts (LEVA)

9:00 SF: changes in LEVA, 6th Ed.

11:40 SF: 6th Ed.’s accessibility and increased framing

12:25 SU: 6th Ed.’s shift in perspective to a more centrist presentation

14:00 SF: 6th Ed.’s usefulness for a broad audience

15:20 SU: examples of stories in 6th Ed, e.g., Naruto v. Slater, (9th Cir. 2018) 

16:00 SU: Brancusi v. US, 54 Treas. Dec. 428 (U.S. Customs Court 1928) 

 17:25 SF: variety of materials in LEVA, e.g., articles, statutes, transcripts, novels

18:20 SF: Examples of cases about the authenticity of works and the disconnect between legal judgments and art world valuations: Greenberg Gallery v. Bauman, 817 F. Supp. 167 (D.D.C. 1993), aff’d without opinion, 36 F.3d 127 (D.C. Cir. 1994) (Calder sculpture held to be authentic by the trial judge versus expert Klaus Perls’ rejection of the work) 

20:30 SF: Herstand & Co. v. Gallery Gertrude Stein Inc., 211 A.D.2d 77 (N.Y. App. Div. 1995) (remand on authenticity of Balthus drawing despite Balthus' repudiation of the work) 

22:40 SU: colorful settings and range of legal issues arising in art-related cases

24:45 ethical issues arising in art-related disputes, e.g., restitution claims

26:35 SF: Museum Studies Scholar Marie Malaro, the law makes us only bearable, not honorable.

27:00 Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act of 2016; HEAR Act of 2025 

31:50 LEVA website and its future resources

34:10 SU: AI-generated discussions about issues in LEVA, 6th Ed.

36:00 SU: 6th Ed. updates 

37:05 SF: generative AI issues in pending suits

40:00 LEVA, 7th Ed.

41:30 Feedback from readers of 6th Ed.

42:15 Tax issues covered in 6th Ed.

45:50 SF: definition of justice

47:50 SU: ethical concerns in defining justice to aim for honor 

50:00 SF: mark he hopes to be making 

50:55 SU: mark he hopes to be making with LEVA

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Music by Toulme.

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© Stephanie Drawdy [2026]