leon black art collection revealed jeffrey epstein file 1234771582

A 51-page document released as part of the Jeffrey Epstein files appears to catalog the extensive private art collection of billionaire collector and former MoMA board chair Leon Black. The document, which lists works by masters from Michelangelo to Picasso under corporate entities linked to Black, reveals valuations and details of a collection largely kept from public view, including works held as promised gifts to major museums like MoMA and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

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The United Kingdom has imposed a temporary export bar on Sandro Botticelli's painting "The Virgin and Child Enthroned" (c. 1470), valued at £10.2 million ($13.5 million). The work was sold to a foreign buyer at Sotheby's London last fall for £8.6 million, but the export license deferral—recommended by the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art—gives British institutions until August 8 to express interest in acquiring it. The painting, previously attributed to Botticelli's workshop, was confirmed as an autograph work through new scientific analyses and has been in the private collection of Lady Wantage since 1904.

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Greece is building a cultural coalition with Italy to strengthen its campaign for the return of the Parthenon Marbles from the British Museum. Italy's culture minister Alessandro Giuli pledged support during a visit to Athens and announced the repatriation of 145 ancient coins. Greek culture minister Lina Mendoni is leading efforts to build international backing, and the two countries have devised joint cultural initiatives, including an exhibition of modern Greco-Italian metaphysical painters. Meanwhile, the U.K.'s Labour government has taken a neutral stance on the issue, departing from the previous Conservative government's opposition, and negotiations between Greece and the U.K. are described as "ongoing and constructive."

man indicted stolen andy warhol print vladimir putin fbi 1234739588

An owner of a pawn shop in Los Angeles, Glenn Steven Bednarsh, has been indicted on federal charges of conspiracy and interstate transportation of stolen goods for allegedly conspiring to sell a stolen Andy Warhol trial proof print of Vladimir Lenin. The print, a unique 1987 screenprint from an edition of 46, was purchased by Bednarsh for $6,000 in February 2021. He then enlisted co-conspirator Brian Alec Light to help sell it through Heritage Auctions. The scheme unraveled when a gallerist identified the work as stolen, leading to FBI involvement. Light has already pleaded guilty, and Bednarsh faces arraignment in the coming weeks.

us turkey sculptures repatriated aaron mendelsohn 2726367

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office has successfully repatriated eight life-sized Roman sculptures that were illegally removed from Bubon, Turkey, 60 years ago. The sculptures, part of a shrine honoring Roman emperors, were sold to Americans by Turkish villagers in the 1960s without required permits. After a two-year legal battle involving two lawsuits and an arrest warrant, the final sculpture—a headless bronze piece—was surrendered by collector Aaron Mendelsohn, who had acquired it for $1.33 million. The sculpture was returned to Turkish officials at a ceremony hosted by Bragg's office, alongside dozens of other looted Turkish antiquities, including a marble head of Demosthenes seized from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

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The Metropolitan Museum of Art has returned a late-18th century Buddhist painting, *The Tenth King of Hell* (1798), to the Sinheungsa Temple in Sokcho, Gangwon Province, South Korea. The work is believed to have been taken by U.S. troops during the Korean War. The repatriation was celebrated at a ceremony in Seoul attended by Met Director and CEO Max Hollein, Korean government officials, and religious leaders. The painting is part of a larger series of ten scrolls depicting the Ten Kings of the Underworld; three remain abroad, while six others previously at LACMA have already been returned.

met repatriates painting korea buddhist temple korean war 1234761860

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has returned an 18th-century Korean painting, *The Tenth King of Hell* (1798), to Sinheungsa Temple in Sokcho, South Korea. The work, part of a ten-panel series called *Siwangdo* depicting kings of the afterlife, was illicitly taken from the temple in 1954 during the U.S. military presence after the Korean War. The Met purchased the painting in 2007 from a collector via an LLC linked to Bonhams’s Chinese art head. The repatriation was coordinated with the Sokcho Committee for the Return of Cultural Heritage and the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism. Six other panels were previously returned by LACMA in 2020; three remain abroad.

Heirs to the Bic Empire Say They’ve Been Robbed of a Renaissance Masterwork

The heirs to the Bic pen fortune, Gonzalve, Charles, and Guillaume Bich, have filed a lawsuit alleging a 15th-century masterpiece by Fra Angelico was stolen from their family. They claim the painting, 'Saint Sixtus,' was taken by their father's chauffeur in 2006 and sold to art dealer Richard Feigen, who later sold it to Chilean collector Alvaro Saieh in 2018. The heirs are now suing Saieh to reclaim the artwork and seeking the return of sale proceeds from Feigen's estate.

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The Fowler Museum at UCLA has voluntarily returned 11 culturally significant objects to the Larrakia Community of Australia’s Northern Territory. The items, including a kangaroo tooth headband and 10 glass spearheads dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, were handed over in a ceremony on May 20. Half of the objects arrived at the museum in 1965 via a large donation from the Wellcome Trust, while the rest were gifts from private collectors. Since 2021, Larrakia elders have worked with AIATSIS and the Fowler Museum to identify and facilitate the return. The Larrakia community plans to open a cultural center next year to house the repatriated items.

jackson pollock painting lawsuit molly mcqueen 1234753819

Molly McQueen, the granddaughter of actor Steve McQueen, is suing South Carolina lawyer Brent Borchert for a Jackson Pollock painting valued at $68 million. The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court in August, alleges that Steve McQueen transferred the Pollock drip painting to Borchert's parents, Rudolph and Pamela, in exchange for a motorcycle and a property in Latigo Canyon. When the motorcycle was crashed and the property title never changed hands, McQueen demanded the painting back, but the Borcherts failed to return it. Brent Borchert, who inherited the painting along with his sister Bettina after his parents' deaths, told the Mirror that the deal was 'hazy' and that he is open to a reasonable agreement if evidence supports the claim.

Museums in New York and Los Angeles receive collection of 63 Modern works

The Henry and Rose Pearlman Foundation has announced the distribution of its 63-work collection of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, and modern art among three major US museums: the Brooklyn Museum (29 works), the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA, 6 works), and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA, 28 works). The collection includes pieces by Chaïm Soutine, Edgar Degas, Amedeo Modigliani, Vincent van Gogh, Édouard Manet, and Paul Cézanne. The foundation, established in the 1950s by Brooklyn-born businessman Henry Pearlman and his wife Rose, had long-term loans to the Princeton University Art Museum and organized traveling exhibitions before deciding to permanently place the remaining works.

Volunteer Restorer Accused of Painting PM Giorgia Meloni's Face into Angel on Church Fresco

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A volunteer restorer in Rome, Bruno Valentinetti, has been accused of altering a church fresco to make an angel bear the likeness of Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The fresco, in the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Lucina, was restored after water damage, and the angel holding a map of Italy now appears to resemble the political leader. Valentinetti denies the likeness, claiming he faithfully followed the original design.

The true story of the Caravaggio theft by the Sicilian Mafia behind the Arte series 'The Caravaggio Conspiracy'

La véritable histoire du vol du Caravage par la mafia sicilienne derrière la série « Le Complot Caravaggio » sur Arte

The theft of Caravaggio’s 'Nativity with Saint Francis and Saint Lawrence' from the Oratory of San Lorenzo in Palermo remains one of the world's most notorious unsolved art crimes. Stolen in October 1969 by professional thieves who cut the massive three-meter canvas from its frame, the masterpiece has been missing for over 50 years. Investigations have long pointed toward the Sicilian Mafia, with various theories suggesting the work was displayed at secret summits, hidden in Switzerland, or tragically destroyed.

appeals court clears spanish dealer convent sculpture 1234774162

The High Court of Justice of Andalusia has overturned a four-year prison sentence for antiques dealer Santos Boy Jiménez Cortés, who was previously convicted of misappropriating a 17th-century Baroque sculpture. The artwork, 'Saint Margaret of Cortona' by José de Mora, was purchased from the Our Lady of the Angels convent in Granada for €21,600 before being resold to a Madrid gallery and eventually offered at TEFAF New York for €400,000. The court ruled that the nuns' claims—that they had only requested a restoration budget rather than selling the piece—were inconsistent and lacked documentation.

Rare Books Stolen From a Jesuit Archive in Rome Are Returned to Italy

A collection of rare 17th-century books, written in Chinese by Jesuit missionaries and stolen from the Jesuit Historical Institute in Rome, has been returned to Italy. The books, which cover astronomy and other scientific topics, were recovered by the Carabinieri art squad after being illegally exported to the United States.

Bavarian State Police Return Saint Figures to the Czech Republic

LKA gibt Heiligenfiguren an Tschechien zurück

Bavarian state police (LKA) have returned five stolen religious sculptures—saints and angel figures—to Czech authorities. The artworks, some dating back centuries, were stolen from Czech churches as early as 1993 and later offered for online sale in Bavaria and Berlin. The handover ceremony took place in Prague, coordinated with Germany's Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media (BKM).