Unsellable art leaves family with $29M tax headach

[jujurocs]

The heirs of art dealer Ileana Sonnabend have inherited “Canyon,” a pop-art masterpiece by Robert Rauschenberg that's been valued at $65 million by IRS assessors. Only one catch: The artwork features a stuffed bald eagle, making it illegal to sell the work under federal eagle protection rules. That's left Sonnabend's heirs on the hook for a $29 million tax bill, but with no way to sell the artwork in question.

complete article here:

www.nytimes.com/2012/07/22/arts/design/a-catch-22-of-art-and-taxes-starring-a-stuffed-eagle.html?_r=1

[ksn]

Wow, that's nuts.

[zippy]

Very interesting read. The laws here in the UK seem a lot more straightforward than the US. Unless we have lawyers on here who will tell me otherwise.

Please update us as this continues .

[sleepboy]

theartlawblog.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-eagle-has-now-landed.html

Patricia Cohen reports that there's been a (very sensible) settlement in the Rauschenberg bald eagle case: "the I.R.S. dropped the [$41 million] tax assessment; in exchange, the family was required to donate [the work] to a museum where it would be publicly exhibited and claim no tax deduction."