Warhol’s Prince series ruled fair use by a New York judge

Our daily round-up of news from the art world

Warhol’s Prince series ruled fair use by a New York judge | A New York judge has ruled that Andy Warhol’s Prince series, a set of 16 silkscreen paintings, drawings and screen prints, was fair use of the original 1981 image by photographer Lynn Goldsmith. The ruling, which was made on Monday, settles a two-year legal battle between the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and Goldsmith. The source image was licensed to Warhol by Vanity Fair in 1984, and the judge argued that Warhol’s version was sufficiently different ‘to have transformed Prince from a vulnerable, uncomfortable person to an iconic, larger-than-life figure’. The court also noted that the work was now more recognisable as a ‘Warhol’ than as a photograph of Prince. 

Art Miami fair group bought by UK events firm Informa | The Art Miami fair group has been bought by UK events firm Informa Markets for an undisclosed sum, according to artnet. The Art Miami group operates Art New York, Aqua Art Miami, Art Wynwood, Palm Beach Modern + Contemporary and CONTEXT, all of which will continue to run under Informa, a company that specialises in yacht and design trade shows.

Judge dismisses majority of case made against Morgan Art Foundation by Robert Indiana’s estate | A New York judge has dismissed the majority of a case made by the Robert Indiana estate against the Morgan Art Foundation, which represents the artist. The ruling was made on Monday, and rejects counterclaims made in the legal battle over the rights to Indiana’s work, which began with a lawsuit filed by the Morgan in May 2018. The estate’s counterclaims had stated that the Morgan evaded paying him royalties and that they produced unauthorised reproductions of his work; however, a counterclaim against a series of LOVE sculptures made in semiprecious stones has not yet been dismissed.

Seven arrested after vandalism of Anish Kapoor sculpture in Chicago | Seven suspects have been arrested following the vandalism of Anish Kapoor’s Cloud Gate, which was found covered in graffiti by authorities on Tuesday morning after they responded to a trespassing call at Millennium Park in Chicago. The police have launched an investigation but nobody has yet been charged.