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# Is Alfred Steiner's "Erased Schulnik (Diptych)" Copyright Infringement?
- URL: https://hyperallergic.com/alfred-steiner-copyright-infringement/
- Published: 2012-01-12T20:30:01.000Z
- Updated: 2025-11-24T16:36:58.000Z
- Description: Sergio Muñoz Sarmiento of the always interesting Clannco: Art & Law blog has chimed in about our yesterday's post "When Paintings Are Easily Reproduced." He tackles the legal question around Alfred Steiner's "Erased Schulnik (Diptych)" (2010).
- Author: Hrag Vartanian
- Tags: Opinion, Allison Schulnik, Copyright, #wp, #wp-post, #image-position-hidden, #Import 2025-11-24 06:51 (2012, 2013, part 1)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2012/01/alfred-steiner-norte-maar-home.jpg "alfred-steiner-norte-maar-HOME")

Sergio Muñoz Sarmiento of the always interesting Clannco: Art & Law blog has [chimed in](http://clancco.com/wp/2012/01/painting-alfred-steiner-allison-schulnik/?ref=hyperallergic.com) about our yesterday’s post “[When Paintings Are Easily Reproduced](https://hyperallergic.com/alfred-steiner-erased-schulnik-diptych/).” He tackles the legal question around Alfred Steiner’s “Erased Schulnik (Diptych)” (2010):

> But is what Steiner did actually copyright infringement? At this late hour (11:00pm EST), I would have to say, not at all.

He clarifies:

> To say that Steiner’s white version is a derivative work, and therefore infringing on Schulnik’s painting, would be tantamount to saying that no other artist could paint a clown face impasto-style, white or in color.

But he’s then he poses some other questions that could prove thorny:

> **…** the legal question gets more interesting (and juicier) if we ask how exactly Steiner went about copying Schulnik’s work.

You’ll have to read [the post](http://clancco.com/wp/2012/01/painting-alfred-steiner-allison-schulnik/?ref=hyperallergic.com) to get the whole story.