Archive of Henry Lydiate‘s Artlaw column, published in Art Monthly since 1976. Have a legal question about your career? Check our Directory or send us a legal query.
Tomorrow is a Long Time
Alteration, defacement, mutilation, modification, deterioration and destruction of artworks are matters usually ignored at the outset by artists, their commissioners and/or buyers. In future columns we will look at the conservation concerns of keepers of…
International Foundation for Art Research: IFAR
The Internet continues to advance and develop the provision of high quality, free access information. IFAR is one such excellent and authoritative resource, for current and historical information about art business throughout the world.…
Nothing is Forever
It seems that the number of artists whose works suffer minor indignities or major censorship at the hands of the powerful will continue to increase until kingdom come. But nothing, as Pat Lally observed, is forever. Pat…
An American in Florence: restoring the moral balance
Professor James Beck, Professor of Art History at Columbia University, prosecuted for the fourth time for criminal libel in an Italian Court, has been acquitted. Restorer Gianni Caponi brought the four actions…
Up Against the Wall: part 1
‘I am told that you have a thorough knowledge of the subject of artistic copyright. And write to ask if you would be so kind as to give some advice on the subject. I…
Mortality/Immortality
The Getty Conservation Institute recently organised a unique conference in Los Angeles, California, under the title ‘Mortality/Immortality: The Legacy of 20th Century Art’ to debate whether and, if so, how many contemporary works should be conserved. It was addressed…
Conservation Renovation & Restoration
The three cases detailed in this article all raise the same question, one which has serious legal as well as professional practice implications for commissioners, owners, curators and conservators – as well as for living artists:…
Moral Rights: Artists have got ’em
A vandalised painting exhibited by a gallery, a sculpture dyed black by a visitor, an artwork altered and published bearing a false signature – recent months have seen a number of these artists’ horror…
Copyright and Moral Rights: New Legislation (moral rights)
This article explains what are Moral Rights. On August 1, 1989 the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 comes into force. In March, we began a three part exploration of key changes…