Italian court rules no obligation for foundations to authenticate artworks

The Court of Rome ruled on July 6, 2018, that the Cy Twombly Foundation is not legally obligated to authenticate or include works in the artist's catalogue raisonné. The case involved a private individual who received three untitled acrylic-on-paper works from Cy Twombly and sought their inclusion in the foundation's catalogue for auction sale. The foundation refused, and the auction house subsequently declined to sell the works. The owner requested the court to order authentication and inclusion via a technical consultancy. The court dismissed the claim, citing that authentication judgments are protected as free speech under Article 32 of the Italian Constitution, referencing a prior 2016 decision. The ruling emphasizes that while any art expert can authenticate works, heirs and foundations are not compelled to issue such opinions.