Handshakes are liabilities
A gentleman's agreement is a lawsuit waiting to happen. We draft explicit terms for consignment, insurance, and transfer.
PRACTICE · ART & ENTERTAINMENT
Fine Art Transactions & Provenance
The global art market operates on a fragile ecosystem of trust, discretion, and handshake agreements—a system that collapses when tested by a dispute. Whether you are an institutional collector moving a masterpiece or a contemporary artist securing gallery representation, we replace ambiguity with enforceable contracts. We handle the complex mechanics of high-value physical transfers, blind escrows, and thorough provenance verification, so the asset is protected long before it enters the auction house.
- Discipline
- Art & Entertainment
- Engagement
- Per matter or retainer
- Counsel
- Christopher Moye
ART & ENTERTAINMENT
Handshakes are liabilities
A gentleman's agreement is a lawsuit waiting to happen.
The problem
The art market runs on trust and handshakes — until a title, provenance, or payment dispute tests it, and the missing contract becomes the whole problem.
A consignment with no written terms, a sale with no title diligence, a gallery that holds works or proceeds — each is ordinary until it goes wrong, and then the absence of documentation is what decides it. The protection is the paperwork done before the transfer, not the dispute after.
Principles · 01
How we draft the matter.
Every engagement is composed against these commitments. They shape the protections we add, the questions we ask, and the document that leaves the file.
Discretion is engineered
Blind escrows and private treaties do not happen by accident. They require meticulous legal architecture to maintain anonymity.
Provenance is everything
A gap in the history destroys the value. We conduct thorough title and provenance investigations before any transaction.
What we watch · 02
What can break the matter.
These are the terms, structures, and practical risks that usually decide whether the work holds when the file is tested.
ARTISTCOLLECTOR
Gallery Agreements & NY Arts Law
Enforcing the strict fiduciary protections of the New York Arts and Cultural Affairs Law to insulate artists and collectors against consignment risk and gallery insolvency.
FAMILY OFFICEHNW
Private Treaty Sales
Architecting blind escrow structures and multi-jurisdictional transfer protocols for the discreet, secure sale of high-value blue-chip works outside public auction.
ESTATEPATRIARCH
Archive Succession
Building the estate structures required to transfer massive physical collections and their associated copyrights to institutions or heirs postmortem.
The work · 03
Four steps. One engagement.
Each step is concrete; each step has a deliverable. The scope is defined, the matter moves, and the file closes.
- 01
Due Diligence
We trace provenance, verify clear title, and check the artwork against international registries of stolen or contested works.
- 02
Structural Design
We draft the purchase agreements, consignment terms, and escrow arrangements that govern the physical and financial exchange.
- 03
Execution
We oversee the physical inspection, condition reporting, and secure transfer of funds through trusted intermediaries.
- 04
Post-Transaction
We handle the subsequent insurance, storage, and loan agreements for the piece as it enters a private collection or museum.
Proof
What stands behind the work.
What stands behind the work — credentials and representative engagements, stated plainly.
Art-transaction matters are handled by Christopher Moyé, Esq., who authors the firm's published writing on art and estate law.
Consignment and gallery agreements, purchase and private-treaty sales, provenance and title diligence, and New York Arts and Cultural Affairs Law claims.
Every transaction starts with title and provenance diligence before terms are drafted — the history is checked before the deal is built.
Common questions
Questions clients ask.
Plain answers to the questions that come up most. If yours is not here, send the facts — we answer in writing.
- What should be in an art consignment agreement?
- At a minimum: who holds title, the sale price or reserve and the commission, insurance and risk of loss while the work is held, the timeline, and what happens on a sale or a return. In New York, consigned work and proceeds are also protected by statute (below). We put those terms in writing so a handshake does not become a loss.
- How do I verify provenance and title before buying art?
- Through diligence: tracing the ownership history, confirming clear title, checking the work against stolen-art and claims registries, and reviewing authentication and condition records. Gaps in provenance can destroy value or signal a defective title — we surface them before the purchase, not after.
- Can I recover my work or money from a gallery that won't pay?
- Often, yes. New York's Arts and Cultural Affairs Law treats consigned works and their proceeds as trust property held for the artist, with fiduciary protections that survive a gallery's financial trouble. We use those provisions to pursue the work or the proceeds.
- What are VARA and moral rights?
- The federal Visual Artists Rights Act gives certain artists rights of attribution and integrity in their work — including, in some cases, the ability to prevent destruction or distortion — separate from who owns the physical piece. We advise artists and owners on how those rights apply to a given work or transaction.
- How do private and auction sales differ legally?
- A private treaty sale offers discretion and negotiated terms but puts the diligence and structure on the parties; an auction consignment runs on the house's standard terms, which favor the house. We structure private sales and negotiate auction consignment terms so the seller is not accepting boilerplate blind.
SECURE YOUR COLLECTION
Secure your collection.
Formalize the handshake. Structure the blind escrow, verify provenance, and enforce the gallery agreement.
Begin a conversation