The NYU Institute of Fine Arts presents the Ancient Seminar Program “’Ancient Art as an Investment’: A Strange, Cautionary, and Ongoing Tale”.
Speaker: Elizabeth Marlowe (Colgate University)
This event is free and open to the public, but registration is required.
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This talk will tell the story of a decades-long antiquities investment scheme orchestrated by a very well-known Manhattan dealer and an insurance salesman based in Detroit. By the end, it involved nearly a hundred investors, three hundred ancient artworks, and seven university museums. The story did not end well for most of the participants. The talk will examine the risks and ethics of the financialization of antiquities, and also raise questions about the relationship of museums to the art market.
Elizabeth Marlowe is Professor of Art History, Chair of the Art Department, and Director of the Program in Museum Studies at Colgate University. She earned her Ph.D in Roman art history at Columbia University, and has published widely in both scholarly and popular venues on Roman imperial art, museum ethics, and cultural property. Recent publications have focused on the Benin Bronzes, the Elgin Marbles/Parthenon Sculptures, museum labels, and an ongoing case concerning a group of Roman bronze statues looted from Turkey.
*The program will be presented onsite at the James B. Duke House and live-streamed to those who join us by Zoom. Zoom details will be available upon registration for virtual attendees.