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.
Continuing Silence
Many aspects of the art business world attract criticism or attack for being slippery and opaque, none more so than in the realm of sales transactions where privacy and discretion are paramount. First sales of artwork directly by…
Sculpture Competitions
Some interesting and important issues arise around the enduringly popular artists’ competition format. Many sculpture ‘competitions’ contain this word in their title, but some are promoted as ‘prizes’ or ‘awards’ or ‘contests’. What exactly has an artist won…
Permission to Sell
Contemporary art sales are attracting increasing media interest beyond the usual art industry suspects, particularly from financial journals and commentators. There is a significant boom in both the number of sales and of the prices of works…
Merchandising Rights Time Bomb
When an artwork is mass produced in three dimensions by or with the artist’s permission, UK law substantially reduces the artist’s copyright protection in the future. This rule is a time bomb: it operates only 25…
Creative Collaborators: Authors or Assistants?
In this post digital age increasing numbers of artists collaborate to create non traditional works of time based or mixed media, for which a significant global market has developed and is advancing. For art market…
Authentication Revisited
Authenticity certificates were explored in last month’s column (Art Monthly 355). This month we revisit the subject in the light of further authentication disputes and debates. Art Fairs have vastly increased in number over the past ten years…
Authenticity Certificates
Public and private collectors and art market professionals have started to request certificates of authenticity to accompany the transfer of ownership of works. What are they, how are they used, who provides them and what is their legal…
Mum’s the Word
Artworks are sometimes conceived which deliberately incorporate the law as an intrinsic element in the piece or its exposition: Christo’s Running Fence could only be realised by the artist successfully negotiating the right to place his fence…
Artists Bearing Gifts: Revisited
Gifts of work by artists to public institutions are an important and valuable method of promoting wider interest in and access to work, and of acquiring critical endorsement. During the past year, several correspondents have raised…
ArtlawTV
A series of short films exploring the main legal issues that artists face. Each film comprises an interview with an artist about their work, with an overview of the legal implications of their practice by Henry Lydiate, art legal…
Selling is Easy
Selling work is easy: give it to the buyer and take the money. However, many artists and buyers care about what might happen to the work in the future: buyers are often concerned about originality, size of edition…
Foreign Affairs
This article written in 1981 raises many still relevant issues on applying for Opportunities. The American Painters in Paris Exhibition fiasco, raises serious artlaw questions. Starting from the beginning, the nine page booklet/seduction package makes interesting reading. Put…
Tate Da Vinci Code Pollock
the publishers of The Da Vinci Code have successfully defended a breach of copyright claim against them in London's High Court, and the Pollock Krasner Foundation is currently in dispute with a Jackson Pollock expert…
Caveat Emptor
In relation to an artwork, what is the meaning of: an original a reproduction an original reproduction a multiple original a print an original print an edition a limited edition and does it matter? Some argue that it…
Artists’ Residencies
At this time of global economic downturn, when governments across the world and especially in developed economies are committing vast sums of public money to prevent unemployment, some money is being ear marked to support artistic endeavour. This…
Beware of Artists Bearing Gifts
It is still common and customary practice for artists to donate works to friends, family, museums and galleries. And it is equally common that such gifts are executed by informal methods, which can and often…
Editions or Series: Artists Be Clear
Misunderstandings and disputes often arise when two people interpret the same situation in different ways. Assumptions are usually the root cause; full, frank, and clear dialogue between the parties, especially in contractual negotiations, is…