Ethics in the Visual Arts

Note: Ethics in the Visual Arts does NOT satisfy the NY Bar Professional Responsibility requirement for LL.M. students.

The art market is a vast and largely unregulated market. Headlines focus on the wealthy participants, lack of transparency and record breaking sales, but behind the headlines is a very large ecosystem that employees many people and drives local economies. Lawyers play a role in many of the transactions underlying the market, but there are far fewer regulations or standards than in any other mature financial markets. Lawyers need to understand and consider the ethical issues that arise when art is created, traded, bought and sold. Legal ethics establish, uphold and safeguard the integrity, credibility and fairness of the legal system and the transactions lawyers advise on.

This course will examine the role of lawyers in different transactions involving art, and the legal and ethical standards and boundaries that exist in the art market. The course will consider many aspects of the art market, including the role of museums and museum boards in the art ecosystem. We will examine the roles played by different art market professionals and the legal and ethical standards of conduct. We will look at issues around the acquisition and display of cultural heritage property. The course will also explore art market financial scandals and crimes and the lack of standards for disclosure and accountability that are common in other financial markets. We will consider ethics in photography and video, considering consent, privacy and the role of photographers in war and conflict.