The Joan Mitchell Basis (JMF), a New York-based organisation that oversees the late summary artist’s property, despatched a cease-and-desist letter to luxurious model Louis Vuitton on Tuesday (21 February) claiming the corporate used Mitchell’s work in commercials for purses with out the muse’s approval.
Images that had been showcased on Louis Vuitton’s web site till Tuesday afternoon present French actress Léa Seydoux modelling the model’s line of Capucines purses—which may price tens of hundreds of {dollars}—in entrance of what gave the impression to be Mitchell’s vibrant summary canvases.
The inspiration stated in an announcement it had beforehand denied repeated requests from Louis Vuitton late final yr to make use of Mitchell’s work in a model promoting marketing campaign, citing its longstanding coverage that photos of Mitchell’s artwork solely be used for instructional use. The JMF has by no means licensed Mitchell’s work for the promotion of products or companies, the muse stated.
“It’s a grave disappointment to JMF that Louis Vuitton has such disregard for the rights of an artist and would exploit her work for monetary achieve,” the JMF assertion reads.
The JMF did work with the Fondation Louis Vuitton, an artwork museum in Paris sponsored by Louis Vuitton’s dad or mum firm LVMH, for an exhibition that includes Mitchell’s works alongside these of French Impressionist Claude Monet. The exhibition has been on show since October 2022 and is scheduled to shut subsequent week.
The three Mitchell works featured within the Louis Vuitton marketing campaign are all a part of the exhibit, in accordance with the JMF: La Grande Vallée XIV (For A Little Whereas) (1983), Quatuor II for Betsy Jolas (1976) and Edrita Fried (1981). By allowing the works to be photographed for business use, the Fondation Louis Vuitton is in violation of its settlement with JMF, the muse stated.
JMF threatened to take “additional authorized motion” if Louis Vuitton didn’t drop the promoting marketing campaign. LVMH didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark from The Artwork Newspaper.
Louis Vuitton is not any stranger to artwork world offers. The model’s collaboration with Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama has positioned massive installations in Louis Vuitton shops all around the world. One other Louis Vuitton advert marketing campaign starring Seydoux from final yr reveals her modelling the Capucines baggage in entrance of Monet work on the the Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris.
The chief government of Louis Vuitton’s dad or mum firm LVMH, Bernard Arnault, is at present the world’s richest man and one in every of its main artwork collectors. The Fondation Louis Vuitton museum was his brainchild and showcases many works from his assortment.
