Art Publisher Owes $102.2 Million in Damages for Late Robert Indiana Works

A Manhattan jury has ordered art publisher Michael McKenzie to pay $102.2 million in damages for creating unauthorized or adulterated versions of works by the late Pop artist Robert Indiana. The lawsuit, brought by Indiana’s former business partner the Morgan Art Foundation, alleged that McKenzie produced Indiana-related junk products that infringed trademark and copyright, including reproductions of Indiana’s iconic “LOVE” design and the artworks *The Ninth American Dream* (2001) and *USA FUN* (1965). The jury found McKenzie liable for exploiting Indiana in the final years of his life, after the artist granted power of attorney to his caretaker, Jamie Thomas.

British artist says the Met ‘should take responsibility’ for dress copyright dispute

British artist Anouska Samms has publicly criticized the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York over a copyright dispute involving a dress displayed in the Met Gala opening exhibition. Samms claims the museum included a garment called the Nervina Hair Dress, which she says is a copy of her collaborative work Hair Dress, created with fashion designer Yoav Hadari during their residency at the Sarabande Foundation. The Met had expressed interest in acquiring the original dress for its Costume Art exhibition but shelved those plans in December. Samms says she was not credited or paid, while Hadari acknowledges her IP rights over the textile but asserts the design and construction are his own. The Met has declined to comment, directing the artists to resolve the matter themselves.

Famous Cranach painting spotted in rare photograph of Hitler’s apartment

A rare photograph from the early 1940s reveals that Lucas Cranach the Elder's painting *Cupid complaining to Venus* (1526-27), now a masterpiece in the National Gallery, London, once hung in Adolf Hitler's private Munich apartment. The image, previously published in Germany by provenance expert Birgit Schwarz, appears for the first time in an English-language publication. The painting was acquired by the National Gallery in 1963 from E. and A. Silberman Galleries in New York, which provided a false provenance. It had been taken from a warehouse of recovered art in 1945 by American journalist Patricia Lochridge, who smuggled it into the United States.

No, the courts have not cleared the way for contemporary stained-glass windows at Notre-Dame

Non, la justice n'a pas laissé la voie libre aux vitraux contemporains de Notre-Dame

The article clarifies that legal challenges against installing contemporary stained-glass windows in Notre-Dame Cathedral are still ongoing, contrary to misleading headlines. Two judicial procedures remain active: an appeal by the heritage association Sites & Monuments after losing a first-instance ruling on procedural grounds, and a separate case contesting the legitimacy of the works themselves. Although an emergency injunction was denied because the judge found no urgency, the core legal arguments—that replacing Viollet-le-Duc's windows is not conservation or restoration—remain strong. The author warns that if the windows are installed before the appeals are resolved, they may later have to be removed at great expense.

NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani Calls on King Charles to Return Treasured Diamond to India

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani publicly called on King Charles III to return the Koh-i-Noor Diamond to India during the British monarch's visit to New York City on Wednesday. Speaking at a press conference before a 9/11 commemoration ceremony, Mamdani said he would encourage the King to return the diamond, which was given to Queen Victoria in 1850 after Britain's colonial governor-general arranged its exchange from a deposed Indian leader. The two leaders later met at the ceremony, but Buckingham Palace declined to comment on the discussion.

Controversy resurfaces in Colombia over treasure-filled San José shipwreck

Controversy has resurfaced in Colombia over the San José, a Spanish galleon that sank in 1708 with a cargo of gold, silver, and emeralds. The oversight group Veeduría Nacional para el Control Social del Patrimonio Cultural Sumergido de Colombia (VNPCS) issued an open letter to the attorney general, alleging a lack of transparency, looting, and unauthorized interventions at the wreck site in 2016 and 2022. The group claims that the site's coordinates, considered a state secret, have been disclosed. The dispute involves multiple parties, including the Swiss treasure-hunting firm Maritime Archaeology Consultants (MAC), which helped locate the ship in 2015 and is now seeking compensation, and the US-based salvage company Sea Search Armada, which claims to have found the galleon in the 1980s and is seeking $10 billion. The ship was designated a protected archaeological area in 2024, placing it under the jurisdiction of the Colombian Institute of Anthropology and History (ICANH), but critics argue that earlier allegations of looting were ignored.

Guatemala stakes claim to stone lintel by 'the Michelangelo of the pre-Columbian era' that was repatriated to Mexico

A Maya stone lintel, dating from AD600-AD900 and depicting a ritual scene associated with the ruler Cheleew Chan K'inich, was repatriated to Mexico on April 16 after being turned over to the Mexican consulate in New York by an unnamed US businessman. However, hours after the ceremony, experts determined the lintel actually originated from Guatemala's Petén Basin. Guatemala's cultural ministry, led by minister Luis Méndez Salinas, has formally requested the object's return through diplomatic channels, citing technical analysis and consultations with archaeologists.

1,200-Year-Old Limestone Lintel was Inadvertently Repatriated to Mexico Instead of to Guatemala

A 1,200-year-old limestone lintel, carved by the ancient Maya artist Mayuy and depicting a ruler of Yaxchilán, was repatriated from the United States to Mexico in mid-April after an American businessman turned it over to the Mexican consulate in New York. However, Guatemala's cultural minister has begun proceedings to reclaim the artifact, arguing that it was originally removed from the Guatemalan side of the Usumacinta River, not Mexico. The lintel was first documented by American explorers Dana and Ginger Lamb in the 1950s in an area called Laxtunich, and its exact provenance has been disputed by scholars.

U.S. Returns Hundreds of Looted Antiquities to Italy

U.S. officials formally returned 337 looted antiquities, archival materials, and artworks to Italy during a ceremony at Rome’s La Marmora barracks. The objects, spanning from the Villanovan era (900–700 B.C.E.) through the Hellenistic period (323–31 B.C.E.), include Etruscan, Greek, Italic, and Egyptian artifacts. The repatriation was coordinated by Italy’s Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security, and the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg Jr. Key items include a marble head of Alexander the Great, a bronze sculpture from Herculaneum, and Egyptian basalt sculptures. Some 221 objects were recovered via the Manhattan DA, while the remaining 116 were secured with help from Christie’s.

Condemned by Francoism, a writer rehabilitated by the Spanish Congress

Condamné par le franquisme, un écrivain réhabilité par le Congrès espagnol

The Spanish Congress has officially rehabilitated Cipriano Salvador (1894-1975), a Republican intellectual wrongly accused by the Franco regime of stealing a Renaissance painting he actually saved. During the Spanish Civil War, Salvador hid Fernando Yáñez's "La Santa Generación" (c. 1525-1532) from destruction. After Franco's victory, a priest sold the work to the Prado Museum for 15,000 pesetas, while Salvador was arrested, sentenced to death (later commuted to 30 years), and spent seven years in prison. He died in 1975 without exoneration. The rehabilitation motion passed with 32 votes in favor, 3 against, and 1 abstention, with only far-right party Vox opposing.

London's Wellcome Collection returns 2,000 manuscripts to the Jain community

London's Wellcome Collection is returning 2,000 Jain manuscripts to the Jain community, the largest such collection outside South Asia. Acquired in 1919 at a low price from a Jain temple in what is now Pakistan, the manuscripts will be transferred to the UK-based Institute of Jainology and deposited at the University of Birmingham. A Memorandum of Understanding is being signed at the House of Commons. The restitution bypasses the country of origin because the Jain community in Pakistan was displaced after the 1947 partition, leaving no suitable depository there.

UK’s Brighton & Hove Museums to return 45 artefacts to Botswana

Brighton & Hove Museums in southern England will return 45 artefacts to Botswana. The objects, including clothing, accessories and hunting implements, were acquired by English reverend William Charles Willoughby in the 1890s and will be housed at the Khama III Memorial Museum in Serowe, where they will form part of a permanent exhibition opening on 27 May. A team from Brighton & Hove Museums is working with Botswanan curators on the return, which is scheduled for April.