Member Profile

Dr Hannes Hartung is Partner at Buse Heberer Fromm and Member of the Practice Groups Art, Media and Private Clients.

He is Adjunct Professor for International Art Law at the Universities of Munich, Graz and Hagen since 2006, ICOM-WIPO Mediator since 2011.

He has gained special expertise through examined trainings for the certified Tax, IP& Media and Inheritance Lawyer.

Among his acknowledged clients were and are Cornelius Gurlitt Collection (Munich Art Trove), The George Economou Collection, Swamp Legend (representing the City of Munich), the worlds dearest rug, East Side Gallery, Bayerische Staatsgemaeldesammlungen, Bayerisches Landesdenkmalamt, Landeshauptstadt Muenchen and the Kunsthaus Lempertz.

Dr Hartung advises art collectors, art galleries, art dealers, auction houses, artists, museums, private banks, family offices, insurance companies and art investment funds.

He frequently handles international art transactions and acts for clients buying and selling artworks and collections worldwide. He also has overseen complex restitution cases and was involved in complex cases for the authentication and inclusion of important works in the relevant catalogues raisonnés of famous artists.

Dr Hartung has published numerous articles on International Art Law Issues, including the handbook Art theft in war and persecution (“Kunstraub in Krieg und Verfolgung”, 2005) and the chapter “Kunstrecht” at the renowned “Münchener Vertragshandbuch” in 2015. He frequently gives lectures on Art, Culture and Media Issues at Universities, Conferences and in Company trainings.

Buse Heberer Fromm is your partner for all national and international commercial and tax law issues. As a “full service“ law firm with more than 100 specialised attorneys, auditors and tax consultants, we can assist you in all projects and transactions as well as in day-to-day matters. With six offices in the major German cities and eight foreign representative offices, Buse Heberer Fromm can provide competent service, tailored extensively and individually to your needs, both in Germany and abroad.

Buse Heberer Fromm’s Art Law Team consists of six members in five cities (See left) and also has one office in the important art market Switzerland in Zurich. The field of arts and culture requires a particularly high degree of sector knowledge due to its broad range of legal aspects. With a team of specialists from a very wide range of disciplines we offer customized solutions at both the national and international level. We advise art collectors, art galleries, art dealers, art advisors, auction houses, artists, museums, private banks, family offices, insurance companies, and art investment funds.

Our team frequently handles international art transactions and acts on behalf of clients purchasing and selling artworks and collections worldwide. We also have overseen complex restitution cases and were involved in complex cases concerning the authentication and inclusion of important works in the relevant catalogues raisonnés of renowned artists. We naturally collaborate with art insurance companies, art historians, and art advisors on a continuous basis, thus, covering every aspect of art law, tax, and investment strategies. Our partners frequently give lectures and workshops on art, cultural and media issues at universities, conferences and company trainings.

We have represented clients in well-known art law cases including, but not limited to, the collection of Cornelius Gurlitt (so-called "Munich art trove"), the city of Munich in the discussion concerning "Swamp Legend" by Paul Klee in the Lenbachhaus, the former owner of the "most expensive carpet in the world" and East Side Gallery artists. Recently our partner Dr. Hartung could prevent 524 drawings and prints by Otto Dix from the George Economou Collection (formerly Florian Karsch) from being listed in the German register of cultural property of national signicance. Dr. Hartung was named Global Law Expert for Art Law in Germany (2016).

Range of Services

• Authentication and Appraisal in the ar t market

• Restitution (Holocaust and WW II loot ed art, illicit trade)

• Transactions

• Legal and tax structures f or collections; contracts with museums and other institutions

• Copyright and Media Law

• Contracts of all kinds (interalia art loans , art transactions)

• Comprehensive advice f or collectors and collections, especially

for collection successions and tax issues

• Advice for art dealers (auction houses and galleries)

• A r t loans

• “Kunst am Bau ” (ar t in ar chitecture)

• Foundation La w and La w of Suc cession

- All of these include all tax-related issues.