The American Joan Mitchell Foundation (JMF), an art foundation of the American painter Joan Mitchell, who died in 1992, has sent a cease and desist letter to Louis Vuitton’s bags and suitcases division (Louis Vuitton Malletier). In it, she calls on the company to immediately withdraw its print and digital advertising campaign, in which at least three of the artist’s works are unlawfully reproduced and used to promote its products.
In late 2022, Louis Vuitton had approached JMF asking permission to use Mitchell’s work in an advertising campaign. “The JMF rejected this request in writing, citing the long-standing policy that images of the artist’s works may only be used for educational purposes,” the foundation explains. In fact, the JMF never licensed the artist’s works for use in commercial campaigns or for the promotion of any other goods or services. Louis Vuitton then repeated the request, which was rejected several times.
Nevertheless, Louis Vuitton launched its campaign and at least three of Mitchell’s works were used without permission. These are the works “La Grande Vallée XIV (For A Little While)” (1983), “Quatuor II for Betsy Jolas” (1976) and “Edrita Fried” (1981). All three works are currently on display at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris. “By allowing these works to be photographed for this purpose and in this manner, the Fondation Louis Vuitton is in breach of its agreement with the JMF,” the JMF said in a statement. “It is a great disappointment to JMF that Louis Vuitton should so disregard an artist’s rights and exploit her work for financial gain.”
Works by the artist will be on display at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris until February 27, 2023 in the exhibition: “Monet – Mitchell. Dialogue and Retrospective”.