From Art Crime to Artistic Legacy

An Exclusive Two-Part Webinar for American Impressionist Society Members

What can two former FBI Art Crime Team agents teach you about protecting your artwork, your rights, and your artistic legacy?

Quite a lot, as it turns out.

Join the American Impressionist Society for a special two-part webinar featuring Ronnie Walker and David Bass, retired FBI Art Crime Team agents and co-founders of the nonprofit Art Legacy Institute.

Drawing on decades of experience investigating art theft, fraud, and the international art market, Ronnie and David will share remarkable stories from their FBI careers before turning their attention to something every working artist should understand: how to protect, document, and preserve their life's work.

PART ONE | Inside the FBI Art Crime Underworld

• 45 Minutes | True Stories from the FBI Art Crime Team

Go behind the scenes of some extraordinary FBI art crime investigations.

From recovering priceless works of art and cultural artifacts to tracking down stolen rare musical instruments, Ronnie and David will share entertaining, firsthand accounts of their investigations and introduce you to some of the colorful characters they've encountered along the way.

Expect fascinating stories, a little humor, and a glimpse into a side of the art world few people ever get to see.

15-Minute Break

PART TWO | Protecting Your Art, Your Rights & Your Legacy (recorded will be available)

• 60 Minutes | Practical Advice Every Artist Can Use

Creating artwork is only part of an artist's professional journey. Protecting it, documenting its history, and ensuring its legacy survives are equally important.

In this practical, artist-focused session, Ronnie and David will explore:

• Protecting Your Artwork: Copyright, AI image scraping, online theft, and practical steps to safeguard your creations.

• Documenting Your Work: Photography, signatures, certificates of authenticity, and the records that help establish an artwork's identity and history.

• Navigating the Art Market: Understanding gallery consignments, avoiding fraud, and protecting your interests.

• Preserving Your Artistic Legacy: Why documenting your entire body of work matters—not just for you, but for collectors, future scholars, and the generations that follow.

The session will conclude with an introduction and live demonstration of the Art Legacy Institute's Legacy Catalog, a new platform designed to help artists build and maintain a lasting record of their life's work.

Whether you're an emerging artist or have spent decades building your career, you'll come away with practical knowledge and tools to help protect what you've created.

The webinar is divided into two sessions with a 15-minute break, making it easy to plan your participation. We encourage members to attend the entire program, but if your schedule permits only one session, we especially recommend Part Two for its practical information and resources designed specifically for artists. 

A Q&A opportunity will occur at the end of second session.

You will receive an email with the link to the webinar two days before the event and a reminder one hour before the event.  We can't wait to see you!