Mexico claims Louisville art gallery is selling stolen pieces

DENVER (KDVR) — Mexico’s secretary of culture has called out a Louisville art gallery for selling pieces that belong to Mexico’s heritage, but the gallery says it has done nothing illegal.

Mexico: Local gallery is selling pieces belonging to country

On March 26, the official X account of Mexico’s secretary of culture, Alejandra Frausto, tweeted and tagged Artemis Gallery. She asked them to stop the sale of pieces that “belong to the cultures of Mexico.”

“There is nothing more immoral than put [sic] a price on the heritage of a nation,” said Frausto in the tweet.

The tweet also featured several images of art being auctioned at Artemis Gallery with the hashtag “My Heritage Is Not For Sale.”

Beatriz Gutiérrez Müller, the wife of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, also tweeted at Artemis Gallery about the sale of what she called “illegally stolen” pieces.

On the Government of Mexico’s website, as translated to English, the secretary of culture claims Artemis Gallery has scheduled the sale of 20 assets belonging to Mexican heritage. The pieces include Mayan, Teotihuacan and other ceramic styles typical of the north, west and the Gulf of Mexico, according to the government.

Mexico’s Ministry of Culture and the National Institute of Anthropology and History said they initiated a judicial and diplomatic process with national and international authorities to have the pieces be repatriated to Mexican territory.

The Government of Mexico also said the Ministry of Culture sent a letter to the gallery asking the directors to stop the sale of these pieces.

Gallery claims they have not broken laws when selling art

FOX31 reached out to Artemis Gallery, located at 686 S Taylor Ave. in Louisville. Founder and executive director Bob Dodge said this is not the first time Mexico has “attempted to intimidate” the gallery.

According to Dodge, Mexico has sent consulate employees to their gallery on five different occasions. However, Dodge said the correct way to dispute the ownership of a cultural property is through the U.S. Department of State and not directly through the gallery.

The State Department says it works with other countries to provide a framework for international collaboration and impose restrictions that prevent stolen objects from entering the U.S.

Dodge told FOX31 that, “Artemis Gallery makes every attempt to follow those laws.” However, he did acknowledge that they cannot always know if an item has been stolen or misrepresented.

“The owners and staff at Artemis abhor the very concept of looting and do not work with or done the sale of illegally obtained artifacts in any form. We have worked with ICE and the FBI in identifying foreigners and U.S. citizens who were trying to smuggle objects into the U.S.,” said Dodge in an email to FOX31.

Dodge said that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has investigated Mexico’s claims of ownership on several occasions and found a lack of evidence of illegal activity taking place at Artemis Gallery.

“It is my humble opinion that art is meant to be enjoyed and not stored in a warehouse never to be seen again. Man has been collecting and enjoying art for 10,000 years. I do not think that will ever change,” said Dodge.

The auction took place on March 28, and according to Artemis Gallery’s website, two pieces were sold.