Overview
- Barbara Karant filed a federal copyright lawsuit on May 26, 2026, accusing Mickalene Thomas of copying images from Karant’s 820 Ebony/Jet photographic series without permission or attribution.
- The complaint says Thomas appropriated more than a dozen photographs from Karant’s 2013–15 series, which documents the vacant Johnson Publishing Company interiors and comprises about 250 images.
- Alongside Thomas, the suit names four galleries—Lévy Gorvy Dayan, Yancey Richardson, Kavi Gupta, and Galerie Nathalie Obadia—for exhibiting works that allegedly incorporate Karant’s photographs.
- Galleries have issued limited statements or declined comment and Thomas has not publicly responded to the suit, while Karant’s attorneys say the displays have damaged her ability to sell the photographs.
- Karant’s lawyers say the alleged copying jeopardizes the market for her book due in September 2026 and the case adds to growing legal scrutiny of artist appropriation and institutional responsibility when showing image-based work.