Exempt from duty: . . . Original paintings in oil, mineral, water, or other colors, pastels, original drawings and sketches in pen, ink, pencil or water colors. . . .
So reads Paragraph 1,807 of U. S. Public Law No. 361, the Tariff Act of 1930. Its legalistic loophole: the word "original." Last week it appeared that Manhattan customs officials had squeezed certain of the grey-and-chalk Paris street scenes of Maurice Utrillo through the loophole, ruling that they were copies of postcards, therefore commercial rather than original art, therefore dutiable at 15% of the...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
