Joan Mitchell Foundation Claims Vuitton Ads Infringe on Painter’s Copyright (Published 2023) (2024)

The Joan Mitchell Foundation sent a cease-and-desist letter to the Paris headquarters of Louis Vuitton on Tuesday, alleging the fashion brand had used the artist’s paintings in handbag advertisem*nts after her nonprofit organization repeatedly declined to give its approval.

Mitchell, who died in 1992, is considered one of the great abstract artists of the postwar period, and her large-scale works regularly sell for over $1 million at auction. At least three of her paintings, known for their vibrant symphony of color, appear in current Vuitton ads starring Léa Seydoux, the actress.

The Foundation’s letter, which was reviewed by The New York Times, asserts that Louis Vuitton infringed on the artist’s copyright and demands that the luxury fashion brand withdraw its marketing campaign within three days or face legal consequences.

“It is a grave disappointment to the Joan Mitchell Foundation that Louis Vuitton has such disregard for the rights of an artist and would exploit her work for financial gain,” the nonprofit, which has overseen the artist’s intellectual property since 1993, said in a statement. It added that it “has never licensed the artist’s work for use in commercial campaigns,” only allowing the work to be used for educational purposes. A statement on the unauthorized use of the works was released on the foundation’s website.

The letter comes at an awkward moment for the fashion house. Mitchell is currently the subject of a lauded exhibition at the Fondation Louis Vuitton, a contemporary art space in Paris opened by LVMH, where the artist’s paintings are compared to those of Claude Monet; the show will hang for another week.