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Ann M. Garfinkle, attorney

Protecting your art, your legacy

I help artists, writers and collectors navigate the complicated world of contracts, intellectual property (copyright), wills, trusts and probate, and business law. My five decades of experience and work with prominent artists, galleries, and collectors throughout the world makes it possible for me to help you preserve your art and your legacy.

ART LAW

  • Represents artists, estates of artists, galleries, and collectors in all aspects of "the art business," from prominent American to European painters and sculptors

  • Artists who create large scale outdoor sculpture or sculptural environments for public spaces such as the U.S. Capitol Mall, airports, sports stadiums and parks

  • Estates of numerous artists and collectors including the Estate of Morris Louis

  • Licensing art and literary works

  • Represent art galleries and art fairs

  • Licensing artistic and literary property internationally

  • Negotiating and drafting contracts between U.S. and foreign art venues

  • Represent non-profit art and art conservation entities

  • Advise on applications for 501(c)(3) status

  • Represent non-profit colleges and museums

  • Copyright registration and advice

WILLS, TRUSTS AND PROBATE

  • Extensive experience in drafting wills and trusts, and probate, including the bequests of intellectual property, especially for the estates of artists and collectors; experience with blended and non-traditional families; experience with substantial estates; probate disputes, including litigation; and experience negotiating prenuptial agreements

RECOGNITIONS

  • Listed in Best Lawyers in America 2017 - present

  • Preeminent Lawyer for 25 years AV Peer Review Rated: Martindale-Hubbell

  • Bar Register of Preeminent Women Lawyers: Inaugural Edition 2011, 2012

  • Admitted in Washington D.C. and New York.

MEMBERSHIPS & ACTIVITIES

  • Member: District of Columbia Estate Planning Council; elected member of D.C. Planning Council (2001 - present)

  • Nominee: Top Lawyers in DC in Tax/Trusts and Estates by the Washington Business Journal

  • Member: Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD; Trustee, Board of Trustees, Executive Committee

  • Member: ArtTable (national organization of female professionals in the visual arts field); elected member of ArtTable (2001 - present)

  • President: Morris Louis Conservation Fund, Inc.

  • Founding Director: International Network for Conservators of Contemporary Art, North America

  • Graduate: Mediation for the Professional, Center for Dispute Settlement, 2012

  • Editor or co-author: Art Law sections of the annual editions of the DC Practice Manual, District of Columbia Bar Association, (2005 - Present)

  • Frequent lecturer nationwide on Estate Planning for Artists: Estate Planning for collectors and The Law of Art Conservation

  • Member: New York State Bar Association, District of Columbia Bar Association and American Bar Association