Art & Luxury Assets

The Art and Luxury Assets team at Aria Grace Law CIC conducts both transactional and dispute resolution work for a wide range of national and international artists, collectors, galleries, dealers, auction houses, art consultants, art investment funds and landed estates. Our practice spans millennia of artistic creativity and collecting, from antiquities to the impact of AI on the work of contemporary artists. Much of our work has complex international dimensions and touches on multiple jurisdictions. In addition to art and cultural property, we safeguard our clients’ interest across a wide range of other collectibles and investments, such as classic cars, wine, whisky, jewellery and watches.

For Private Clients
At Aria Grace Law CIC, private client art collectors, investors, family offices, foundations and estates receive not only art law advice but, next to our art law team, they find best-in-class specialists for adjacent legal services on matters such as tax, trust and estate planning, corporate structuring and legal frameworks for art investment funds. Our clients also have access to our wide network of non-legal subject matter specialists providing art advice, valuations, collections management, art market research, insurance brokerage, provenance research, art finance, logistics, security, and other services. This means that our clients receive holistic advice, are fully informed before taking decisions, and are empowered to make the most of every opportunity. When disputes arise, we resolve them discretely and efficiently through negotiation and alternative dispute resolution where possible, but in court or arbitration proceedings were necessary. Our lawyers also advise and have successfully acted for clients in Holocaust era restitution claims.

For the Artists and the Art Market
In addition to private clients, our team also advises art market participants on a wide range of contentious and transactional matters, including a strong client base amongst smaller and regional auction houses, UK and international galleries and dealers, art investment funds, artists, art organisations, art fairs and trade bodies. These matters include title disputes, questions of misattribution and authenticity of works of art, problems of fraud, fakes, forgeries and money laundering, and general commercial matters, including advice and contract structuring in connection with the sale and acquisition of artworks, loan arrangements, terms of business and the protection and exploitation of copyright. The team has also advised the national governments of source countries on the restitution and repatriation of lost, looted, illegally excavated and/or exported antiquities.

The Art and Luxury Assets team is led by Gregor Kleinknecht, an experienced art law specialist who has for many years been recognised by the key directories as a leading individual in art and cultural property, including by Chambers UK and Chambers HNW, Legal 500, Spear’s Art Lawyers Index and Best Lawyers.