Artist Robert Indiana Sued over Sculptures
- May 10, 2012 15:34
A Monaco-based art dealer is suing renowned Pop artist Robert Indiana, who is celebrated worldwide for his LOVE sculptures.
Indiana is best known for his 1964 design creation which features, in block letters, an L-O arranged on top of a V-E, with the O at a slant; the design was also the basis of an 8-cent U.S. postage stamp issued on Valentine's Day in 1973.
The dealer bringing the suit, Joao Tovar, purchased 10 variants of the “LOVE” sculpture that read “PREM,” the Sanskrit word for love.
Indiana renounced these sculptures in a 2009 letter to New York dealer Simon Salama-Caro, saying they had been conceived by his business partner John Gilbert and made without his permission.
According to Tovar, this action has rendered the sculptures he purchased essentially worthless, whereas previously they had been valued in the millions. Another complication is that the sculptures have changed hands many times.
The 83 year-old Indiana’s work was a symbol for the anti-war movement in the 1960s.
100x100_c.jpg "Two Nayarit (Mexico) seated musician figures with instruments, reddish ceramic with pigments and manganese, 200 BCE to 200 CE. Sizes: Larger figure 15¼in x 8in, smaller figure 15in x 10in. Estimate: $4,000-$6,000")
![Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577–1640), After Titian (Tiziano Vecelli) (Italian [Venetian], c. 1488–1576), Rape of Europa, 1628–29. Oil on canvas, 71 7/8 x 79 3/8 in.](/images/c/e2/2e/Jan20_Rape_of_Europa100x100_c.jpg "Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577–1640), After Titian (Tiziano Vecelli) (Italian [Venetian], c. 1488–1576), Rape of Europa, 1628–29. Oil on canvas, 71 7/8 x 79 3/8 in.")
