Photos under wraps

N.S. gallery owns pictures but Leibovitz owns the copyright and must give OK

It’s all up to Annie LeiboHALIFAX vitz now.

Unless the famed American photographer personally signs off on an exhibit to display her iconic portraits, they will remain in storage at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia.

“The gallery cannot show the work without her permission,” gallery spokesman Colin Stinson said in an e-mail, noting that although the gallery owns all the pieces, Leibovitz maintains the copyright.

“Our first step in the process will be to work with the artist to determine the best path forward,” he said.

The gallery was dealt a crushing blow this week when a federal board refused to grant the collection a certification of cultural significance, which comes with important tax incentives for donors. It was the gallery’s fourth and final application to the Canadian Cultural Property Export Review Board, which once again ruled that the bulk of the photographs didn’t meet the criteria for outstanding significance or national importance.

The collection includes a portrait of a naked and pregnant Demi Moore, a brooding image of the Queen, Whoopi Goldberg bathing in milk, Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as the Blues Brothers, and the haunting photo of a naked John Lennon and Yoko Ono hours before the musician was gunned down in front of his New York apartment.

While the board certified Leibovitz’s file collection — a series of snapshots that led to final photographs — it refused to certify the large-scale exhibition-style prints.

Leibovitz has been unavailable for comment this week.

A spokeswoman for the Canadian Heritage Department, which oversees the federal board, said the board receives more than 500 certification applications a year from museums, libraries, archives and other institutions.

Justine Lafond said in an e-mail that more than 80 per cent of certification applications are approved, often at the proposed fair market value.

“A smaller number are refused for not meeting the criteria of outstanding significance and national importance,” she said.

However, Lafond said she couldn’t comment or publicly acknowledge any certification application due to an obligation to protect the confidentiality of taxpayer information.

Toronto art lawyer Aaron Milrad said the board’s repeated refusal to certify the Leibovitz works could send a chill over the art world.

“It should be a concern for museums and art galleries in Canada,” he said. “On my part, I will donate less than I would otherwise.”

Milrad said the works were purchased for roughly US$4.75 million but have a fair market value closer to $20 million, which would have resulted in a tax break.

The contract between the artist and the donor stipulated that a final payment was due upon certification, he said.

But Milrad said the donor did everything by the rules, and called the board’s refusal to certify the works “petty.”

“I’m frustrated to see this kind of an attitude as a precedent,” Milrad said.

“They obeyed the rules and they got independent appraisals from highly regarded appraisers knowledgeable about the American photography market.”

The family of Al and Faye Mintz of Toronto donated the images to the gallery in June 2013 in what was the largest single donation of one artist to the gallery.

Harley Mintz said in an e-mail that the family is disappointed that this “spectacular exhibition is tucked away and not available to the public.”