Bolivian Ambassador Maria Beatriz Souviron Crespo
and Christopher Marinello of the Art Loss Register. (Courtesy Art-Crime.Blogspot.com)
Last month, The New York Times‘ profile of the Art Loss Register—the curious independent entity dedicated to finding lost and stolen art—mentioned that the company’s general counsel Christopher A. Marinello would soon step down to start a rival business.
We’ve just received a note about that new business, which is called Art Recovery International and seems to do much the same thing that the Art Loss Register does. See below:
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
I am pleased to announce that after 7 years as General Counsel for the Art LossRegister, I have left the company to form Art Recovery International, a London based partnership that specialises in recovering stolen, missing, and looted works of art. I have assembled a small team of legal experts and other professionals who offer discreet and bespoke services to collectors, dealers, insurers, museums and artists.
While our primary focus is on art recovery and resolving complex title disputes, we also provide due diligence services and provenance research. We will be active in education on art crime and cultural heritage preservation and plan on instituting a pro bono service for artists, eligible claimants, and non-profit institutions.
We are also working with a number of developers to build what will be the most comprehensive central database of stolen and looted artwork, title disputes, fakes and forgeries, and works that may be subject to financial security interests. Utilising the most advanced technology available, the database will be run ethically, responsibly and with respect for the rule of law.
This is the ground floor of a very exciting business. I am open-minded to ideas and policies and recognize that all of you have either years of experience or youthful brilliance to impart. I welcome and appreciate both and thank you in advance for your support.
Please visit us at http://www.artrecovery.com (currently under construction) and contact me as you wish at chris@artrecovery.com.
Yours sincerely,
Christopher A. Marinello
Director
Art Recovery International