[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.artnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/peyton-lawsuit.jpg?w=1024″]<\/p>\n
\n\tLast week, rock music photographer Justin Thomas filed a copyright infringement lawsuit in the Southern District of New York against the American painter Elizabeth Peyton, Sotheby\u2019s, and David Zwirner Gallery, as first reported by Copyright Lately<\/em>. <\/p>\n \n\tIn the suit, Thomas accuses Peyton of willfully copying a photograph he took at an after-party in London\u2019s Earls Court in 1995 of Oasis band members Liam and Noel Gallagher embracing in a rare show of affection, given the brothers\u2019 well-reported animosity.<\/p>\n \n\tPetyon\u2019s painting from the photograph, titled Earl\u2019s Court (Liam + Noel)<\/em> (1996), went on to fetch $1,920,000 at Sotheby\u2019s in New York in May.<\/p>\n \n\tThe disputed painting \u201cis just a slavish copy of the copyrighted work,\u201d argues the court filing. \u201cShe copies the captured iconic moment, the famous feuding Gallagher brothers in a kiss. She copies the theme, the brutish rock stars caught being tender,\u201d it goes on. \u201cThe only transformation is the medium itself, and Peyton\u2019s slight cropping of the copyrighted work and adding different coloring and brushwork,\u201d it adds, claiming the painting is \u201cclassic derivative use.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThe plaintiff also accuses David Zwirner gallery, which represents Peyton, of profiting from publishing, reproducing, and distributing images of Peyton\u2019s painting, which the filing refers to as the unlawful \u201cInfringing Work.\u201d Lastly, Sotheby\u2019s joins the list of defendants for having auctioned the painting, initially estimated to sell for $1,500,000 to $2,000,000, and profiting from its distribution.<\/p>\n \n\tThomas, who now lives in Spain, has been documenting punk, rock, and Britpop performers such as The Clash, Prince, The Rolling Stones, and Iggy Pop for some 35 years. He also made the disputed Oasis brothers\u2019 image the centerpiece of his book of photographs, How Does It Feel? \u2013 Oasis 1995-2002<\/em>, published by Hanging Around Books. <\/p>\n \n\tAccording to the filing, a Sotheby\u2019s representative contacted Thomas this past April to request permission to license his photograph in an online catalogue \u201cas a comparative illustration on a digital webpage essay.\u201d The photograph itself was not up for sale, the message explained. Thomas gave permission for a $2,000 payment.<\/p>\n \n\tHowever, another email reproduced in the filing states that after about a week, Sotheby\u2019s removed the photograph from its website at the request of the artist\u2019s representative. The auction house and the photographer then agreed on the adjusted fee of $1,500. Only then, and \u201cafter haggling with Sotheby\u2019s over a $500 discount on its licensing fee,\u201d the plaintiff claims that he discovered his photograph was the source of Peyton\u2019s painting sold in May. By removing Thomas\u2019 photograph from the online catalogue, the gallery and Sotheby\u2019s \u201cwere attempting to hide the origins of the painting,\u201d alleges the plaintiff.<\/p>\n \n\tHowever, the source of Peyton\u2019s painting has been well-known for years, as PetaPixel<\/em> reported. In just one case, art advisor Todd Levin shared images of both the painting and the photograph on social media in a comment about the Sotheby\u2019s auction. \u201cI remember accessing this in 1998 for $12,000,\u201d Levin wrote, adding by way of description that \u201cPeyton\u2019s painting reproduces a photograph\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tPeyton is an acclaimed contemporary artist, recognized for her intimate, figurative portraits of people and artists she knows, as well as more famous figures that range from Napoleon Bonaparte to Kurt Cobain. She has often painted from photographs and has said that rather than portraits, she makes \u201cpictures of people.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThis is not the first time Peyton has faced allegations of copyright infringement. In 2014 and 2016, photographer Dennis Morris accused her of reproducing his photographs of members of the punk rock band Sex Pistols. The first case was settled out of court, with the artist denying allegations and claiming fair use through her legal representative. The second, regarding a painting titled John Lydon, Destroyed<\/em> (1994), was pulled from a Sotheby\u2019s sale.<\/p>\n \n\tDavid Zwirner Gallery and Sotheby\u2019s did not return requests for comment by the time of publishing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n [analyse_source url=”https:\/\/www.artnews.com\/art-news\/news\/photographer-sues-elizabeth-peyton-over-painting-using-his-photo-of-oasis-band-members-1234795728\/”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.artnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/peyton-lawsuit.jpg?w=1024″] Last week, rock music photographer Justin Thomas filed a copyright infringement lawsuit in the Southern District of New York against the American painter Elizabeth Peyton, Sotheby\u2019s, and David Zwirner Gallery, as first reported by Copyright Lately. In the suit, Thomas accuses Peyton of willfully copying a photograph he took at an after-party […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[61,226],"class_list":["post-2112384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-artnews-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2112384","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2112384"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2112384\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2112384"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2112384"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2112384"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}