Graham Bowley, The New York Times; $100 Million Award Made in Suit Over Unlicensed Robert Indiana Art
"An art publisher accused in a civil suit of isolating Robert Indiana, the artist, in the final years of his life, has been found to have created unauthorized or adulterated versions of Indiana’s work by a New York jury.
The jury in federal court in Manhattan found in favor of Indiana’s former business partner, the Morgan Art Foundation, a for-profit company, that sued the publisher, Michael McKenzie, on the grounds that he had interfered with its rights by making Indiana works that he did not have the authority to produce.
Among the works cited in the suit were some based on the most famous of Indiana’s works, a depiction of the word “love” in capital letters, with the L and a jauntily tilted O perched atop the V and E. The image is recreated in sculptures that sit in plazas in several cities and on coffee mugs and refrigerator magnets worldwide.
The jury awarded Morgan $102.2 million in damages."
