Worth Nothing or $65 Million?

That's the question that lawyers of the heirs of New York art dealer Ileana Sonnabend and the IRS are arguing in this Catch-22 case involving artwork by Robert Rauschenberg:

Because the work, a sculptural combine, includes a stuffed bald eagle, a bird under federal protection, the heirs would be committing a felony if they ever tried to sell it. So their appraisers have valued the work at zero.
But the Internal Revenue Service takes a different view. It has appraised “Canyon” at $65 million and is demanding that the owners pay $29.2 million in taxes.
“It’s hard for me to see how this could be valued this way because it’s illegal to sell it,” said Patti S. Spencer, a lawyer who specializes in trusts and estates but has no role in the case.

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Culture Crawl Registration Open

Registration is now open to participate as the 11^th annual BC Cultural Crawl, taking place in communities across the province August 1 through 31.

The BC Cultural Crawl provides a vehicle for arts, cultural, heritage and tourism organizations within a community to work together. The results are more strongly integrated communities with tourism and cultural sectors working in tandem.

Register your community, organization or event today.

For helpful tips and hints, view the online toolkit and click here for the FAQ sheet.

The City of Richmond Public Art Program seeks an artist or artist team to create a public artwork to accompany the construction of the Riverport Flats development at 14000 Riverport Way, in close proximity to the Fraser River and to Riverport Sports and Entertainment Complex.  This is an open call. See information.