NEW YORK, Dec. 15 (UPI) — A 30-year-old liquor advertisement is at the center of a new lawsuit filed by a New York City photographer who claims his work was used in an art piece that ultimately sold for millions — for which he got neither credit nor compensation.
The suit was filed Tuesday in Manhattan federal court by photographer Mitchel Gray, whose photo of a man and woman on a beach was used in a 1986 print ad for Gordon’s Gin.
Gray claims the photo was cribbed by pop artist Jeff Koons that same year in a piece titled “I Could Go For Something Gordon’s.” The photographer says he was never credited for the photo and received no compensation for it.
Koons, a distinguished “appropriation artist,” sold the artwork for more than $2 million in 2008.
“Despite the fact that Mr. Koons reproduced a near-identical copy of the original work, Mr. Koons never contacted Mr. Gray or his agent, never attempted to obtain Mr. Gray’s consent and never provided Mr. Gray with compensation or credit for the use of the original work,” the lawsuit says.
Though the alleged copyright infringement occurred nearly three decades ago, Gray said he filed the suit now because he only recently became aware of it.
In 1989, Koons admitted in an unrelated lawsuit that he did not seek permission to use photos from liquor advertisements in what’s known as his “Luxury and Degradation” art series, which includes the Gordon’s ad, the New York Daily News reported.
Gray’s lawsuit claims that Koons has been sued by various parties for copyright infringement on at least five occasions.
In addition to Koons, the lawsuit names London auction house Phillips, which sold his piece, and the unidentified owners of the artwork as defendants.
Neither Koons or his representatives immediately responded to the lawsuit.
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