Matters

Arts Foundation – Joint Venture

Represented The European Fine Arts Foundation (TEFAF) in the creation of a joint venture entity with Spring Show NYC LLC. The joint venture will own and operate a Fall and Spring art fair to be held annually at the Park Avenue Armory. TEFAF currently owns and operates the premier art fair in Europe (TEFAF Maastricht) and will be rebranded under the TEFAF brand through a license arrangement we also negotiated. This is a significant matter in the art fair/collector world as TEFAF is the gold standard among art fairs and plans to hold numerous large-scale events in New York in the future.

Marei von Saher – Restitution of Nazi-Looted Art

Representing Marei von Saher in her efforts to recover hundreds of Nazi-looted artworks from the collection of her father-in-law, the renowned Dutch art collector and dealer, Jacques Goudstikker.

Commission for Art Recovery – Baron Herzog Collection

Represented the Commission for Art Recovery in recovering 10 paintings from the Hungarian government that were stolen from the heirs of Baron Herzog, a Hungarian aristocrat, during the Nazi regime. At Herrick's request, Senator Hillary Clinton wrote to the Hungarian Foreign Minister in support of our efforts. Senator Clinton issued a press release regarding her letter and also posted it on her website. To date, Herrick has also garnered support from Senator Lautenberg, Senator Kennedy and Congresswoman Nita Lowey.

Art and Antiquities Dealer – Conversion Action

Represented a London-based art and antiquities dealer in a conversion action seeking the return of a rare and valuable stone table consigned to and auctioned by an auction house in New York.

Heirs of Kazimir Malevich – Amsterdam Settlement

Representing the heirs of the world-renowned Russian artist Kazimir Malevich in their litigation against the City of Amsterdam to reclaim artworks created by their ancestor. This litigation was successfully settled in April 2008 when the City of Amsterdam returned five Malevich paintings to the heirs.

Republic of Turkey – Elmali Hoard Restitution

Represented the Republic of Turkey in recovering the "Elmali Hoard" of extremely rare ancient silver coins from a major collector.

Howard N. Spiegler, Partner