Joan Mitchell Foundation claims Vuitton Ads infringe on painter’s copyright

The Joan Mitchell Foundation has accused luxury fashion company Louis Vuitton of reproducing without permission at least three works by the Abstract Expressionist for an advertising campaign featuring actress Léa Seydoux for handbags that retail up to $10,500.

On Tuesday, the foundation, which stewards Mitchell’s legacy as well as providing millions in direct artist support in the decades since Mitchell’s death, sent a cease and desist letter to Louis Vuitton Malletier demanding the company withdraw the campaign, a full accounting of where the advertisements appeared, and an apology.

“It’s important for folks to understand that this wasn’t something we agreed to,” Christa Blatchford, the foundation’s executive director, told ARTnews. “How did it even happen, is my question. I honestly don’t understand how it happened on their side. I really don’t.”

Prior to the campaign’s launch, Blatchford said Louis Vuitton had reached out to the Mitchell Foundation, which manages the licensing of all images of artwork by the artist, several times, starting last December, about requesting permission to use the artist’s works in an upcoming series of ads. The foundation, however, repeatedly turned the luxury fashion company down due to a long-standing policy that images of Mitchell’s work were only used for educational purposes and for extremely limited commercial use, such as merchandise for an exhibition.

“We really believe in scholarship,” Blatchford said. “We want to make sure Mitchell’s images are available freely to scholars to museums as they’re using them. That has been our emphasis.”

According to Blatchford, Jean-Paul Claverie, the art advisor to ARTnews Top 200 Collector and LVMH chief executive Bernard Arnault, even offered the foundation a donation in exchange for permission to use the photos in the ad campaign. The foundation continued to say no.

The company went ahead with the campaign, which first appeared in the New York Times Sunday Style section on February 12, as well as online. Advertisements for the company’s Capucines handbags feature Seydoux holding the bags in front of three Mitchell paintings: La Grande Vallée XIV (For A Little While), a triptych from 1983; Quatuor II for Betsy Jolas (1976); and Edrita Fried” (1981).

“It’s one of those [situations] where the attorneys are so clear about it just being black and white,” Blatchford said. “We have documentation of the request. We have all of our agreements, all spelled out, and it was just disregarded.”

In an email, LVMH, Louis Vuitton Malletier’s parent company, told the New York Times, which first reported the news that “Louis Vuitton will not comment.” ARTnews’ request for comment on the situation to Fondation Louis Vuitton was redirected to LVMH, which in turn did not respond to ARTnews by press time.

It is also known for working in collaboration with artists like Jeff Koons and Takashi Murakami. A recent partnership with Yayoi Kusama became an internet sensation when the company installed lifelike representations and robotic versions of the artist at its stores.

“Louis Vuitton’s connection to art allows the company to maintain this sense of rarity and exclusivity,”said Degen, who has written about the convergence of art and fashion.

“And even though many luxury brands describe their foundations as being very separate from their brands, the company has a history of trying to connect the two in the public’s mind,” she added. When the Fondation Louis Vuitton opened in 2014, Frank Gehry, the building’s architect, also designed a series of windows for the fashion brand’s stores and a purse.

The Joan Mitchell Foundation said its policy against the commercial use of the artist’s paintings is longstanding. “We have not done it for anybody,” Blatchford said. “We have never done a cease-and-desist letter, either.“