Andy Warhol, Prince at center of Supreme Court copyright case

The musician Prince, photographed in October 2009 in Paris. Both he and Andy Warhol are under discussion in a case before the Supreme Court of the United States regarding aspects of copyright law that govern the concept of ‘fair use.’ Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, photo credit Nicolas Genin. Shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.
Left, Andy Warhol photographed in Stockholm, Sweden in February 1968, ahead of the opening of a retrospective of his work; right, the musician Prince, photographed in October 2009 in Paris. Both deceased artists are under discussion in a case before the Supreme Court of the United States regarding aspects of copyright law that govern the concept of ‘fair use.’ Both images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. The Warhol photo is credited to Lasse Olsson / Pressens bild and the Prince photo to Nicolas Genin. The Warhol photo is in the public domain in Sweden and the United States, according to Wikimedia Commons. The Prince photo is shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.
Left, Andy Warhol photographed in Stockholm, Sweden in February 1968, before the debut of a retrospective of his work; right, the musician Prince, photographed in October 2009 in Paris. Both artists are under discussion in a case before the Supreme Court of the United States on aspects of copyright law and ‘fair use.’ Both images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. The Warhol photo is credited to Lasse Olsson / Pressens bild and the Prince photo to Nicolas Genin. The Warhol photo is in the public domain in Sweden and the United States, according to Wikimedia Commons. The Prince photo is shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.

WASHINGTON (AP) – Andy Warhol and Prince held center stage in a copyright case before the Supreme Court on October 12 that veered from Cheerios and Mona Lisa analogies to Justice Clarence Thomas’ enthusiasm for the Purple Rain showman. Despite the light nature of the arguments at times involving two deceased celebrities, the issue before the court is a serious one for the art world: When should artists be paid for original work that is then transformed by others, such as a movie adaptation of a book?

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Prince’s ‘Beautiful Collection’ of custom shoes on show at Paisley Park

Prince wore these iconic blue ankle boots with hand-painted white clouds in his 1986 Raspberry Beret music video, along with a matching suit. These shoes were made before Prince had his cobblers reinforce his heels, so two identical pairs of the shoes were made for (and survived) the arduous production of the music video. Photo credit: John Wagner Photography © 1985-2021 The Estate of Prince Rogers Nelson. All rights reserved.
Prince wore these iconic blue ankle boots with hand-painted white clouds in his 1986 Raspberry Beret music video, along with a matching suit. These shoes were made before Prince had his cobblers reinforce his heels, so two identical pairs of the shoes were made for (and survived) the arduous production of the music video. Photo credit: John Wagner Photography © 1985-2021 The Estate of Prince Rogers Nelson. All rights reserved.
Prince wore these iconic blue ankle boots with hand-painted white clouds in his 1986 Raspberry Beret music video, along with a matching suit. These shoes were made before Prince had his cobblers reinforce his heels, so two identical pairs of the shoes were made for (and survived) the arduous production of the music video. Photo credit: John Wagner Photography © 1985-2021 The Estate of Prince Rogers Nelson. All rights reserved.

CHANHASSEN, Minn. – The Prince Estate and Paisley Park unveiled a new exhibition celebrating the legacy and artistry of the incomparable Prince. The Beautiful Collection: Prince’s Custom Shoes is the largest ever display to spotlight Prince’s footwear, featuring more than 300 pairs of his iconic shoes in a technologically advanced installation that is now open and a part of all tours at Paisley Park. The show will remain on view until at least the end of 2021, and possibly longer.

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