Work selected by the curator for the exhibition, appeared at Sotheby's
ARTinvestment.RU   10 марта 2020

The picture sand sculpture Ana Mendieta became the object of legal action 35 years after the tragic death of the artist

According to the lawsuit filed by relatives of the artist, the work was handed over to curator Rebecca Bellinger for a traveling exhibition in 1983, but at the end of the exhibition returned it was not. In 2019, the curator sold the photo to a resident of the state of Georgia (USA), which, in turn, sent the work at Sotheby's to participate in the auction. Relatives of the artist insist that Rebecca Bellinger had no right to sell the photo to a third party, and Sotheby's not taken any steps to confirm that the current owner has the right to dispose of the work. Meanwhile, the auction house estimated the work cost in the range of $90 thousand, according to the New York Post.

counsel for the heirs of the family Mendieta Barbara Hoffman believes that lack of due diligence on the part of the auction house upon acceptance of the work leads to shifting responsibility for the resolution of disputes of the owner, whose rights have been violated. In turn, Sotheby's made a statement in reply, saying that is only an intermediary in the transaction and will follow any court decision following the consideration of the case on violation of property rights.

the Object of the claims is part of a series of documentary photographs of Ana Mendieta made in 1981 in the framework of the project Rupestrian Sculptures. The project was a sculpture carved by the artist in sandy shores and resembled the image of a female deity of the Paleolithic. The intent of the artist, stone sculptures were to be accidentally discovered by a man, like an archaeological discovery. Today most of the sculptures are destroyed by natural erosion.

Herself Ana Mendieta died in 1985 after falling from the window 34-го floor of his apartment in Manhattan, new-Йорке. The murder investigation was charged with the husband of the artist, famous sculptor-минималист Carl Andre. The court acquitted him, but the artist's death was ruled an accident.

Recall that in November 2019 the claim to the auction house Sotheby's put forward the artist Andy link, previously stolen Banksy sculpture "the Drunkard" in Central London. Some time later the sculpture was stolen from the garden the Link and after several changes of owners put up for sale. Its claim to possession of the first thief argued that the previously issued their theft as a "godsend" to the police. After consultation with all parties to the action, Sotheby's withdrew the work from the auction the day before the auction.

Denys Belkevych, AI