A Photographer Says Elizabeth Peyton’s $1.9 Million Painting of Liam and Noel Gallagher Kissing Is ‘a Slavish Copy’ of His Photo

Liam and Noel Gallagher, who have spent three decades fighting, are at the center of another fight, this one in a Manhattan courtroom. Rock photographer Justin Thomas says a painting that sold for $1.92 million in May was copied from his 1995 photo of the brothers kissing.

Thomas filed a copyright infringement lawsuit last week in the Southern District of New York against the American painter Elizabeth Peyton, Sotheby’s and David Zwirner Gallery, ARTnews reports, after the case was first reported by Copyright Lately. These are allegations, not findings, and ARTnews says Zwirner and Sotheby’s did not return requests for comment.

What the Suit Says

Thomas took the picture at an after-party in London’s Earls Court in 1995, when Oasis were at the height of Britpop, and later put a black-and-white version on his photo book How Does It Feel? – Oasis 1995-2002. Peyton’s painting, Earl’s Court (Liam + Noel) (1996), sold at Sotheby’s New York in May against an estimate of $1.5 million to $2 million, in the strong season behind Sotheby’s record first half.

Read moreKarl-Anthony Towns and Jordyn Woods’s Curated Sotheby’s Sale Just Set a Record

The complaint argues the painting “is just a slavish copy of the copyrighted work.” “The only transformation is the medium itself, and Peyton’s slight cropping of the copyrighted work and adding different coloring and brushwork,” it says, calling the painting “classic derivative use.” Copyright Lately’s own look at the images notes the same angle and pose, down to the ring on Liam’s hand near Noel’s collar.

The filing also describes a licensing dispute. In April, a Sotheby’s representative asked to license the photo as a “comparative illustration” for its online catalogue, and Thomas agreed to $2,000. About a week later the photo came down “at the request of the artist’s representative,” and the fee was cut to $1,500. Thomas says that’s how he learned the photo was the painting’s source, and alleges the removal was an attempt to “hide the origins” of the work.

Peyton’s Pattern

Peyton, known for intimate portraits of musicians and other figures, has long painted from photographs, and her sources have rarely been secret. Art advisor Todd Levin posted the photo and painting side by side, writing that “Peyton’s painting reproduces a photograph.” She has faced similar claims before: photographer Dennis Morris accused her in 2014 and 2016 of reproducing his Sex Pistols pictures. The first case settled out of court, and the second work was pulled from a Sotheby’s sale.

Why It Matters

The case will test where appropriation ends and infringement begins, a question the art world answers with money as often as with law. As Copyright Lately points out, copying alone isn’t infringement; the dispute is over how much of Thomas’s own framing, angle and lighting Peyton took. The Oasis connection raises the profile: the brothers are back on the road, with more shows booked for 2027. Sotheby’s and Zwirner had not commented at the time of ARTnews’ report.

Added to the High Grailed archive on October 12, 2026.