Martin Wilson
Chief Legal Counsel, Phillips Auctioneers
Martin is a highly experienced art law practitioner, qualified mediator and author of Art Law and the Business of Art. He has since 1998 advised auction houses on all legal aspects relating to the sale and purchase of art including: Ownership Disputes, Authenticity Disputes, Copyright and Droit de Suite, Cultural Property Repatriation claims, Wartime and Holocaust Restitution claims, Saleroom disputes, Guarantees, Advances and Third Party Guarantees, Private sales, Shipping and export, Anti Money laundering and compliance, Confidentiality and Data protection. He is the previously Co-Head of Legal and Risk at Christie’s Auctioneers.
Martin has over more than two decades been actively involved in the resolution of complex art disputes involving auction houses and their clients. Based upon his experience in this field he wrote Art Law and the Business of Art, the leading textbook on art law and the art business in the UK. He is a committee member of the British Art Market Federation and a frequent guest speaker at UNESCO events in France, Cambodia, Jordan and China. Martin was awarded the Commander of the Royal Order of Sahametrei by the government of Cambodia for his work in the field of cultural property. In January 2020 he was appointed to the original Arbitration pool of CAfA.
Martin was educated at Kings College London (Bachelor of Laws LLB) and Université de Paris I Panthéon Sorbonne (Maîtrise Droit du Commerce), graduating in 1987. He is fluent in English, French and German.
Jurisdiction: U.K.