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LAW 104 — Stolen Art: Historical, Cultural, and Legal Perspectives on Contested Ownership

Quarter: Winter
Instructor(s): Stacey Jessiman
Duration: 2 days
Location: On-campus
Date(s): Feb 1—Feb 2
Class Recording Available: No
Class Meeting Day: Saturday and Sunday
Grade Restriction: No letter grade
Class Meeting Time: 9:00 am—5:00 pm (PT)
Tuition: $450
   
Refund Deadline: Jan 25
 
Unit(s): 1
   
Status: Registration opens Dec 2, 8:30 am (PT)
 
Quarter: Winter
Day: Saturday and Sunday
Duration: 2 days
Time: 9:00 am—5:00 pm (PT)
Date(s): Feb 1—Feb 2
Unit(s): 1
Location: On-campus
 
Tuition: $450
 
Refund Deadline: Jan 25
 
Instructor(s): Stacey Jessiman
 
Grade Restriction: No letter grade
 
Recording Available: No
 
Status: Registration opens Dec 2, 8:30 am (PT)
 
Public fascination with art and heritage theft and destruction is evident from their almost daily coverage by media sources. This course will delve into intriguing legal, ethical, political, historical, cultural, and financial questions about contested art across five subject areas: (1) the acquisition of art during the Age of Imperialism (from Roman times through World War II); (2) Holocaust-era art takings and the evolution in legal and ethical responses to wartime looting; (3) the removal and repatriation of Indigenous cultural material; (4) theft from museums and private collectors; and (5) the illicit trade and destruction of antiquities. Students will be encouraged to think critically and comparatively about current high-profile stolen art disputes and issues, including the Parthenon Marbles; the Benin Bronzes and Colonial-era takings of African art; museum provenance research and restitution (or not) of Nazi-looted works; changing approaches to museum display and repatriation of Indigenous cultural material and human remains; why thieves steal art from museums; legal systems’ varying responses to the good-faith acquisition of stolen art; and causes of and best responses to looting and destruction of antiquities, including in Ukraine.

Guest speakers include:

Richard Aronowitz, Global Head of Restitution, Christie's

Richard Aronowitz is a member of the UK Government’s Advisory Group on Spoliation Matters. He began his career in the art world as a furniture porter at Bonhams in 1993, then joined Sotheby’s as an impressionist and modern art specialist in 1997 before leaving to become director of the Ben Uri Gallery. He later rejoined Sotheby’s as European head of restitution before joining Christie’s.

Shannon O'Loughlin, Chief Executive and Attorney, Association on American Indian Affairs

Shannon O’Loughlin has been practicing law for more than 23 years. She is a lecturer at Johns Hopkins University and serves on the board of Native Ways Federation and Potawatomi Ventures. She is a former chief of staff to the National Indian Gaming Commission and was appointed by President Barack Obama as the first Native American to the Cultural Property Advisory Committee within the State Department in 2015.

Robert Wittman, Former Senior Investigator and Founder, FBI Art Crime Team; President, Robert Wittman Inc.

Robert Wittman joined the FBI as a special agent in 1988, specializing in art and cultural property crime. Over his 20-year career, he recovered more than $300 million in stolen art and cultural property and helped establish the FBI’s Art Crime Team (ACT). After retiring, he founded Robert Wittman Inc., a consulting firm that leverages his investigative expertise to protect clients from theft, fraud, and forgery. His firm has since provided protection and recovery services to over 100 public and private collections worldwide.

STACEY JESSIMAN
Founder and Director, Jessiman Law

Stacey Jessiman is an art and heritage, corporate/commercial, and dispute resolution lawyer who worked at international firms in New York and Paris before founding Jessiman Law, where she helps museums and claimants navigate the complex legal, ethical, and provenance issues associated with art restitution and cultural heritage repatriation claims. She has developed and taught courses on art and heritage theft and destruction and return at Stanford Law School (including “Stolen Art” with professor John Henry Merryman) and in Stanford’s humanities departments. She received a BA in art history and international relations from Stanford, a JD from the University of Toronto, and an LLM from the University of British Columbia. She is a member of the arbitration and mediation panels of the Court of Arbitration for Art in the Hague.

Textbooks for this course:

(Recommended) John Henry Merryman, Imperialism, Art and Restitution (ISBN 978-0521123877 )