Welsh photographer sues American artist over £1.4m Oasis painting
Nation.Cymru Staff
A Welsh photographer is suing a renowned American artist over a £1.4m painting of Oasis stars Liam and Noel Gallagher which he claims copied one of his photographs.
The image of Liam and Noel was captured in 1995 by Justin Thomas, a Caernarfon-born photographer who has shot several rock music legends, including Mick Jagger, Blondie, The Manic Street Preachers, and the Stone Roses.
It shows Liam planting a kiss on Noel’s cheek at a party, and has become an iconic shot among Oasis fans, depicting a tender moment between the brothers who were infamous for their arguments. It was used on the cover of Thomas’ Oasis photobook ‘How Does It Feel? – Oasis 1995/2002’.
According to Artnet, Thomas has filed a federal lawsuit in the Southern District of New York against Elizabeth Peyton, an artist from Connecticut who frequently paints celebrity portraits, including of Keith Richards, David Bowie, and Justin Bieber.
Many of these portraits appear to take inspiration from photographs, such as ‘Pete & Carl’ which draws from The Libertines’ album cover featuring Pete Doherty and Carl Barat, and ‘Jarvis and Liam Smoking’, based on a 1997 shot of Liam Gallagher and Jarvis Cocker sharing cigarettes, originally captured by Richard Young.
The painting which Thomas alleges copies his photograph, Earl’s Court (Liam + Noel), was completed in 1996 and sold in May of this year for $1.92 million (£1.42 million) through Sotheby’s New York.
The lawsuit also includes Peyton’s gallery, David Zwirner, as well as Sotheby’s, alleging copyright infringement.
According to Artnet, the complaint states that Thomas had no knowledge of the painting until Sotheby’s contacted him to ask if they could use the photograph in auction materials alongside the painting.
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Despite granting them a licence to use his image, Thomas claims that Sotheby’s then told him it was to be removed from auction materials at the request of Peyton’s representative, a move his complaint alleges was intended to conceal the photograph as the source of the painting.
It is not the first time Peyton’s work has come under dispute, with photographer Dennis Morris challenging her use of his images of John Lydon and Sid Vicious in 2014. Peyton’s works were subsequently removed from an upcoming auction.
The Earl’s Court suit has sparked much debate online about what constitutes copyright infringement when art and photography intersect. Thomas’ lawyer describes the painting as a “slavish copy”, according to Artnet.
However, Aaron Moss of copyrightlately explains: “The Copyright Act doesn’t prohibit all copying, only the unlawful appropriation of protected expression.
“Thomas has no exclusive right to Liam and Noel Gallagher’s faces, their kiss, or the moment itself. What he owns is his particular expression of that moment: the framing, the angle, the lighting, the timing and other creative choices that went into capturing it.
“The question is how much of that Peyton actually took, and the answer is messier than the side-by-side suggests.”
Thomas’ complaint argues that similarities including the composition, the brothers’ facial expressions and the position of Liam Gallagher’s ring show that the painting does not constitute legally permissible transformative use.
Other commentators have sided fully with Peyton, citing the long history of artists working from established photographs, such as the iconic works of Andy Warhol.
One wrote: “He has no case. Her work is not a photo, it’s a single oil painting which used a work in the public domain as source material. The medium is totally different.
“Peyton has not infringed on the photographer’s own market for his work because she is not making photos, replicating his work, or making cheap knock-offs to undercut him. He just saw dollar signs and now wants a payout 30 years later.”
However, other artists have backed Thomas, with one commenter writing: “Could a photographer get away with photographing someone’s painting without permission and selling a print of it?”
David Zwirner, Sotheby’s and Thomas’ lawyer Terry Parker did not respond to Artnet’s requests for comment.
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