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Introduction
Thaddeus Stauber advises the world’s leading cultural institutions, foreign sovereigns, international art collectors, dealers, artists, universities, foundations, estates and individuals. With a deep passion and appreciation for the arts and practice of law, Thaddeus has earned a reputation as a trusted advisor and skilled negotiator for the art world’s leading players.
My focus
From representing the estates and families of legendary artists such as Pablo Picasso, to leading high-profile courtroom wins and groundbreaking crossover deals, to advising next generation artists like Sterling Ruby and international contemporary art galleries, Thaddeus understands the art industry and international marketplace. His ability to identify and bring in the right experts across the globe and team with a client’s existing counsel and advisors is invaluable to our clients.
International Art Litigation
Thanks to our courtroom skills, judgment and international experience, my team and I have secured precedent setting wins for our clients. We have an unmatched proven track record of prevailing in high-stakes matters involving priceless artwork, cultural property and contractual and intellectual rights while vigorously defending our clients’ personal and professional reputations.
My team and I have successfully represented our clients’ interests in courtroom trials and proceedings throughout the U.S. and in arbitral bodies worldwide, including controversies spanning Europe, Asia and Latin America. I have now personally argued cases in six different federal circuits (D.C., 2nd, 5th, 6th, 7th and 9th), along with numerous state courts.
Notable cases include representing Hungary in an international action challenging the country’s historical ownership of more than 40 artworks and defending a challenge to the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection Foundation’s ownership of important artwork by Impressionist painter Camille Pissarro in federal court. Most recently, my team and I led the courtroom defense and negotiations to resolve competing claims in European and U.S. courts for Pablo Picasso’s daughter in an international dispute over a $115 million sculpture. We also led the defense and negotiations in a highly publicized adverse ownership claim against the University of Oklahoma’s Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art that resulted in a first-of-its-kind U.S.-French international art sharing agreement.
Art Crossover Deals and International Art Industry
I also work with galleries, museums, artists, major collectors and dealers in significant art and cultural property transactions, consignments and commissions. We work on the forefront of the global explosion of contemporary art and the merging of art, fashion, media and finance, including our groundbreaking negotiation and deal structuring for Sterling Ruby and Raf Simons/Calvin Klein along with helping our artist and gallery clients as they expand and enter global markets with cross-border transactions.
Under my direction, my team served as deal counsel on the unprecedented San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and Fisher Family agreement. The agreement brought the world-renowned Fisher Collection, an 1,100-piece private collection of modern and contemporary artwork, to SFMOMA, and included a complex development agreement as the roadmap for the recently completed SFMOMA’s museum expansion. I’m particularly proud of The Art Institute of Chicago’s acquisition of Edvard Munch’s Girl Looking out the Window (1893) and the important European sculpture Sampson with Lion, and had the privilege of putting together agreements for the Venice Biennale, Lucian Freud’s first U.S. museum commission, and numerous contemporary art commissions along with site-specific installation and international exhibition agreements.
Media Management and Crisis Intervention
Print, broadcast and social media add a layer of complexity to an already tenuous situation when you are facing litigation. Intervening quickly, and with the right message, can make a positive difference when it comes to protecting your reputation. I have considerable experience guiding institutions and public figures through these emergent situations to restore not only public trust, but the confidence of board leadership, donors and the marketplace as well.
Law Enforcement and Regulatory Defense
Strategic advisor and lead negotiator to foreign sovereigns, universities and art owners in governmental affairs, investigations and law enforcement actions involving U.S. Department of State, U.S. Solicitor General’s Office, U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and New York District Attorney’s Office
Representative experience
Reported International Art Disputes
- Maya Widmaier-Picasso—Led defense and negotiations for a high-profile, international case representing the daughter of late artist Pablo Picasso in a $115 million dispute over Picasso’s 1931 sculpture titled Bust of a Woman (Marie-Thérèse). Worked across the globe with French and Swiss colleagues to resolve proceedings in France, Switzerland and New York to establish the sculpture’s owner and maintain a record-setting sale as reported in the international press.
- David de Csepel v. Republic of Hungary—Lead counsel to Hungary in current federal court litigation in Washington, D.C., over the Herzog Collection. The New York Times reported the case to be the largest unresolved art restitution case in the world. Obtained dismissal of Hungary.
- Cassirer v. the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection Foundation and the Kingdom of Spain—Lead counsel to the world-renowned Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection Foundation’s ownership of important artwork by Impressionist painter Camille Pissarro. Obtained dismissal of Spain and recognition of Spanish law to establish the Foundation’s ownership.
- The National Gallery, London—Representing The National Gallery in a recently filed lawsuit regarding the gallery’s Matisse painting The Portrait of Greta Moll (1908). Obtained dismissal of case.
- The University of Oklahoma—Represented the University of Oklahoma and the University of Oklahoma Foundation when their ownership of Shepherdess Bringing in Sheep (1886), a historic painting by Camille Pissarro, was challenged. The team achieved a successful resolution for the University and all parties. The settlement agreement acknowledges the good faith of the University, the UO Foundation and the Meyer family, as well as that of the donor Weitzenhoffer family. The agreement results in the painting continuing to be on permanent public display and available for educational purposes, with display evenly rotating between the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art and a museum in France.
- Dunbar v. Seger-Thomschitz—Lead counsel winning art restitution claims for a Louisiana family in a high-stakes dispute over a valuable Oskar Kokoschka painting. Upon winning, we successfully sold the artwork for a record-setting price.
- Reif v. Nagy—Lead counsel to London art dealer Richard Nagy in New York state court in adverse ownership claim to two Egon Schiele artworks.
- JFK Terminal One—Represented Terminal One on unique art installation’s contested relocation under the Visual Artists Rights Act (“VARA”). An arbitration hearing brokered resolution allowed for the relocation of artwork within the terminal while providing for modernization of terminal facilities.
- School of the Art Institute of Chicago v. Art Institutes—Successful federal court tradename lawsuit establishing SAIC’s exclusive common law tradename rights.
- DIA & TMA v. Nathan—Plaintiffs’ counsel leading the international provenance investigation and victory for the Detroit Institute of Arts and Toledo Museum of Art in companion federal court cases brought in the Sixth Circuit establishing the museums’ rightful ownership to priceless van Gogh and Gauguin paintings over that of U.S. and foreign claimants. These were the first U.S. museums to file and win declaratory actions in federal court lawsuits arising from post–World War II Holocaust-related art restitution claims.
Special Art-Related Projects
- Steven Bochco Estate / David Hockney Sale—Represented the estate of Steven Bochco with regards to the sale of a large-scale painting by David Hockney entitled Montcalm Interior with 2 Dogs, valued at a presale estimate of $9-12 million. The painting sold on November 14 at Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Evening Auction in New York for $12,718,000.
- Sterling Ruby/Calvin Klein—Representing the artist Sterling Ruby in his groundbreaking collaboration with fashion house Calvin Klein where Sterling, working with Calvin Klein’s Chief Creative Officer, Raf Simons, is undertaking an innovative effort to distinguish the Calvin Klein brand by incorporating an artist’s vision into the DNA of the world-renowned fashion house.
- The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation—Helped implement the foundation’s art gift/bargain sale initiative leading to the placement of Rauschenberg’s seminal 1970s Cardboard series works in major U.S. museums.
- Art collection management, provenance authenticity and exhibition projects—Dealings with significant artworks and donor agreements for major institutions including among others: Yale University Art Gallery, LACMA, The Met, MoMA, Whitney museums and universities including Harvard and SMU.
- Art Institute of Chicago and School of the Art Institute of Chicago—Special counsel on major art transactions, donor agreements and museum expansion projects and school faculty and MFA student matters.
- Los Angeles County Museum of Art—Formerly general counsel establishing developmental rights, financing for LACMA’s expansion and negotiating major donor agreements.
Reported Copyright & Contract Disputes in the Central District of California
- Goodness Films, LLC, et al. v. TV One, LLC, et al.—Winning counsel for TV One in a copyright dispute before the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
- TV One LLC v. BET Networks, et al.—TV One’s lead counsel in successful U.S. District Court for the Central District of California case centered upon the exclusive broadcast rights to the 2010 ESSENCE Musical Festival.
- HACLA v. HUD—Housing Authority for the City of Los Angeles’ special lead trial counsel against the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development obtaining a federal court injunction stopping HUD from terminating HACLA’s $284 million annual federal contract. The win saved over 200 full-time jobs in Los Angeles and netted HACLA millions of dollars in revenue that is utilized to support social and community services to the residents of Los Angeles’ affordable housing community.
Speaking Engagements
- “Creating the Change: The Art of Art Advocacy,” The Armory Show
- “An Evening Behind The Curtain of International Art Ownership Claims,” Museum of the City of New York
- “A Vanity Fair Story of Art Intrigue & An Insider’s Peek Into the LA Contemporary Art Market,” Family Office Association Conference
- “Bringing Claims,” The Future of Nazi Looted Art Recovery in the US and Abroad, Skirball Cultural Center
- “Focus: Provenance Research from the Legal Perspective,” Provenance Research Exchange Program (PREP), The Getty Research Institute
- IBA Vienna—Art and Entertainment Committee—International art trade and disputes with International Criminal Court special prosecutor
- “Title Disputes in Art Transactions and Their Effect on Estate Plans,” Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning
- “WWII Art Repatriation Claims & What Role for the U.S. Courts,” Federal Bar Council
- International Bar Association, Wealth Transfer Practice
- College Art Association Annual Conference, Art Claims
- ALI-ABA Legal Problems in Museum Administration
In the news
- Houston Public Media
Listen - Houston Matters
Los Angeles Privacy & Technology partner Thaddeus Stauber, Arts & Cultural Institutions team leader, discussed the recent successful dismissal of a case challenging the ownership of a painting by Bernardo Bellotto, “The Marketplace at Pirna,” which has been part of the Museum of Fine Arts Houston’s collection since 1961.May 31, 2022 - SCOTUSblog
Court grapples with choice-of-law doctrines in lawsuit seeking to recover painting taken by Nazis
Jan 19, 2022In a case that has been ongoing for more than 15 years, Thaddeus Stauber and alumna Sarah Andre secured a precedent-setting bench trial decision for our client in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in 2019. They won the case in the lower court after a full trial on the merits by demonstrating to the judge (who wrote a lengthy decision in our favor) that there was no evidence to support the plaintiffs’ allegations of wrongdoing by the Foundation. The plaintiffs appealed the case to the Ninth Circuit, which considered the case for the fourth time. Following a Zoom oral argument in August 2020, the Ninth Circuit unanimously affirmed the district court’s thorough and well-reasoned decision. The plaintiffs’ filed a petition for a writ of certiorari, which raised the discrete question of whether courts should apply the federal common law or forum choice-of-law test to determine the applicable substantive law when an action involves a foreign sovereign. Back in 2015, the district court determined that, under both tests, Spanish law must apply and that the Foundation is the lawful owner of an artwork under Spanish law. In 2017, the Ninth Circuit affirmed, but examined only the district court’s federal common law analysis. In September 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court granted the plaintiffs’ petition, which led to the in-person oral argument on the proper choice-of-law test to apply in an action involving a foreign sovereign defendant. The audio link of the oral argument before the high court in Cassirer v. Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection Foundation can be found here.
- Los Angeles Business Journal
Leaders of Influence-Litigators and Trial Attorneys
Los Angeles Complex Commercial Disputes partner and Arts and Cultural Institutions team leader Thad Stauber is featured in this article for being selected as one of the publication’s “Leaders of Influence: Litigators & Trial Attorneys,” recognizing the most influential litigation leaders in the greater Los Angeles area.July 12, 2021 - OU Daily
Looted Pissarro heiress Léone Meyer OU attorney Thaddeus Stauber speak on court clash over painting
Arts and Cultural Institutions practice leader and Los Angeles Complex Commercial Disputes partner Thaddeus Stauber is quoted extensively in this article on an internationally lauded settlement, reached between The University of Oklahoma and the OU Foundation and Ms. Léone Meyer, that established an art-sharing agreement in 2016 for the Camille Pissarro painting, Shepherdess Bringing in Sheep (1866).April 19, 2021 - The New York Times
After 75 Years and 15 Claims, a Bid to Regain Lost Art Inches Forward
This article, examining the latest developments in a lawsuit involving valuable artworks owned by Hungary and displayed at three museums and a university in Budapest, quotes Arts & Cultural Institutions team leader and Los Angeles Complex Commercial Disputes partner Thaddeus Stauber on the Hungarian government’s ownership of the artworks.Oct 16, 2020 - ARTnews
Prized Camille Pissarro painting can stay at Madrid’s Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, U.S. Court of Appeals rules
This article discusses a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that unanimously affirms that NP’s Spanish client, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection Foundation, is the rightful owner of a prominent artwork by Impressionist painter Camille Pissarro. The article quotes Los Angeles Complex Commercial Disputes partner and Arts & Cultural Institutions team leader Thaddeus Stauber on the decision. The NP team also includes Complex Commercial Disputes partner Sarah Andre, Intellectual Property counsel Aaron Brian, and Labor & Employment associate Irene Scholl-Tatevosyan, all of Los Angeles.Aug 20, 2020 - Artnet News
A Spanish Museum Can Keep a Looted Camille Pissarro Painting, an Appeals Court Rules
This article discusses a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that unanimously affirms that NP’s Spanish client, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection Foundation, is the rightful owner of a prominent artwork by Impressionist painter Camille Pissarro. The article quotes Los Angeles Complex Commercial Disputes partner and Arts & Cultural Institutions team leader Thaddeus Stauber on the decision. The NP team also includes Complex Commercial Disputes partner Sarah Andre, Intellectual Property counsel Aaron Brian, and Labor & Employment associate Irene Scholl-Tatevosyan, all of Los Angeles. Click here to read the article.Aug 18, 2020 - The Art Newspaper
Experts fear California's gig economy law may hit culture workers
Los Angeles Complex Commercial Disputes partner Thad Stauber, head of Nixon Peabody’s arts and cultural institutions team, analyzes how the art world could be affected by California legislation restricting employers’ ability to classify employees as independent contractors.Sep 23, 2019 - Democrat & Chronicle
Fight over prized artwork set for Rochester court
Los Angeles Complex Commercial Disputes partner Thad Stauber discusses his representation of a Pittsford, NY, art collector whose valuable Egon Schiele drawing is the subject of an ownership dispute. Two heirs of art collectors say the drawing was stolen from their families several decades ago.Sep 20, 2019 - The Armenian Mirror-Spectator
Armenian Bar Association turns 30, marks anniversary with flair and education
Los Angeles Intellectual Property partner Thad Stauber appeared on an Armenian Bar Association panel to discuss “the hitches and hurdles in efforts to reclaim vestiges of cultural heritage through the court and arbitral systems.”June 20, 2019 - Bloomberg
Spanish museum can keep Nazi-looted masterpiece, judge rules
In the following media coverage, Los Angeles Complex Commercial Disputes partner Thad Stauber is quoted on Tuesday’s federal court ruling that found the Madrid-based Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection Foundation is the rightful owner of a Camille Pissarro painting. Thad and Los Angeles partner Sarah André, counsel Aaron Brian, and associate Irene Scholl-Tatevosyan represented the Foundation in this matter.April 30, 2019 - American Lawyer
In Long-running dispute over Nazi-looted masterpiece, judge reluctantly rules against heirs
In the following media coverage, Los Angeles Complex Commercial Disputes partner Thad Stauber is quoted on Tuesday’s federal court ruling that found the Madrid-based Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection Foundation is the rightful owner of a Camille Pissarro painting. Thad and Los Angeles partner Sarah André, counsel Aaron Brian, and associate Irene Scholl-Tatevosyan represented the Foundation in this matter.April 30, 2019 - Architectural Digest
A breezy indoor-outdoor beach house built around art and family
Los Angeles Complex Commercial Disputes partner Thad Stauber is featured in this article about the art-centric Venice beach house he shares with his wife, and their children.Jan 9, 2019 - New York Law Journal
Jewish heirs' worldwide fight to reclaim Nazi-stolen art plays out in Manhattan courts
Los Angeles Complex Commercial Disputes partner Thad Stauber is mentioned in this article for his representation of art dealer Richard Nagy in a closely watched appeals court case to decide the rightful owner of a collection of artwork.Dec 26, 2018 - Artsy
What art dealers need to know before doing a fair
Los Angeles Complex Commercial Disputes partner Thad Stauber is quoted in this story on how art dealers can successfully navigate the complex and economically essential world of art fairs.Oct 3, 2018 - Los Angeles Daily Journal
Attorneys address future of Nazi-looted art
Los Angeles Complex Commercial Disputes partner Thad Stauber is quoted in this story on the legal considerations in disputes between museums and claimants over the rightful ownership of artwork.Sep 28, 2018 - Reuters
London's National Gallery prevails in 'stolen' Matisse lawsuit: New York judge
Nixon Peabody’s Arts and Cultural Institutions team, led by Los Angeles partners Thaddeus Stauber and Sarah André secured a legal victory on behalf of The National Gallery in London in a lawsuit regarding the Gallery's Henri Matisse painting "Portrait of Greta Moll” (1908). Sarah is quoted in this article about the case.Sep 21, 2017 - The Art Newspaper
Legal battle over Schiele works owned by Jewish entertainer who died in Dachau
This article focuses on the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery (HEAR) Act and its potential impact on art restitution cases. Los Angeles commercial litigation partner and head of the firm’s Art and Cultural Institutions team Thad Stauber is noted in this article as representing art collector Richard Nagy.April 6, 2017 - ArtNews Net
$30 Million Nazi-looted Camille Pissarro comes to a head in appeals court
The following articles highlight yesterday’s oral arguments in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals over the ownership of a Camille Pissarro painting. Los Angeles commercial litigation partner and head of the firm’s Art and Cultural Institutions team Thaddeus Stauber, commercial litigation partner Sarah André and associate Jessica Walker are counsel for The Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection Foundation.Dec 6, 2016 - Law360
Quest for Nazi-plundered art returns to 9th Circ.
The following articles highlight yesterday’s oral arguments in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals over the ownership of a Camille Pissarro painting. Los Angeles commercial litigation partner and head of the firm’s Art and Cultural Institutions team Thaddeus Stauber, commercial litigation partner Sarah André and associate Jessica Walker are counsel for The Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection Foundation.Dec 6, 2016 - Art Daily
The dealmaker behind the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and Fisher Family partnership
This article features Nixon Peabody’s role as deal counsel and advisor to San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) and the Fisher Family to create a first-of-its-kind collaboration between a museum and a collection. Los Angeles partner and Arts & Cultural Institutions leader Thad Stauber led the NP team in this unprecedented agreement with support from Washington, DC, partner Mike Cooney and Los Angeles partner Matt Grazier. SFMOMA opened to the public on May 14, featuring an expansive new addition displaying hundreds of pieces of postwar and contemporary art work from the Fisher Family.May 16, 2016 - The Washington Post
Why two American museums are fighting to keep art stolen by the Nazis
June 30, 2015Nixon Peabody partner and head of the firm’s Art and Cultural Institutions team Thaddeus Stauber is quoted in this article discussing recent art restitution cases. The article calls Thaddeus one of the leaders in defending museums in such cases.
- The New York Times
Judge Rejects Claim for a Pissarro by Heirs in Nazi Art Case
This feature article focuses on a recent U.S. District Court ruling in favor of the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection Foundation and the Kingdom of Spain in an artwork dispute that spanned a decade. Los Angeles commercial litigation partners Thad Stauber and Sarah André represented the Foundation in this dispute.June 10, 2015 - The Art Newspaper
Will There be Life After Death for New Private Museums?
Los Angeles Commercial Litigation partner and head of the firm’s Art & Cultural Institutions team Thad Stauber is quoted in this column discussing the futures of the single-donor museum following the passing of the founder. The coverage notes Thad arranged San Francisco Museum of Modern Art’s 100-year loan of the world renowned Don and Doris Fisher Collection.Jan 7, 2015 - National Law Journal
Restaurant Owner Loses $1M Copyright Claim Over TV Show
This coverage notes a California federal judge’s decision to dismiss copyright infringement claims against TV One LLC. TV One’s legal team was led by Los Angeles partners Thad Stauber and Sarah André, Washington, DC, partner Kendal Tyre, Los Angeles associate Michael Azat, and Washington, DC, associate Kenneth Nichols.Oct 23, 2013
Admitted to practice
California
New York
U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit
U.S. District Court, Southern District of California
Education
University of Dayton, B.S., Finance, with honors
University of Wisconsin Law School, J.D., cum laude
Professional activities
Thaddeus Stauber is a member of Collections, an elite forum of independent senior lawyers to collectors, institutions, the trade, and to artists and their estate. He is also a founding member of Summaeverythang Community Center, Inc., a charitable organization based in South Central Los Angeles which donates and delivers organic produce from Southern California farms to South Central L.A.
Recognition
Thaddeus was selected, through a peer-review survey, for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2023 in the field of Art Law. Thaddeus has been listed in Best Lawyers since 2016, and was the 2018 Art Law “Lawyer of the Year” for Los Angeles. He was also recommended by the Legal 500 2013, 2014 and 2015 for litigation in the areas of Supreme Court and appellate work.
Pro bono services
Defense trial counsel on cases ranging from attempted murder, rape, armed robbery, drug trafficking, sexual assault, defamation, 1st Amendment, and death penalty post-trial conviction appeal. Obtained numerous jury trial acquittals.
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