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.
Theft, Lies & Videotape
It is trite, but true, to say that the marketplace has become global in its scope and access has become virtually instant. The visual art marketplace now shares many more common technological features with, say, the…
Nightmare of Planning Laws: Westminster City Council V Time Life
Westminster City Council and publishers Time Life are currently heading towards a unique legal dispute over artworks at the Time Life building in New Bond Street, London. It involves a…
An Inspector May Call Again
Readers may recall our report and commentary (AM 245) on the Metropolitan Police Service’s threat to prosecute the photographer Tierney Gearon for showing allegedly indecent photographs of her children in the ‘I am a camera’…
About the author
All articles in the Artlaw section have been written by Henry Lydiate. Henry Lydiate is a legal and business consultant specialising in the creative arts. He is an experienced lawyer, manager, strategist and change specialist with a…
Disclaimers
An artist recently raised an important question about leaving work with a gallery who had insisted on disclaiming liability for taking care of the work whilst in their possession. You say you never compromise With the mystery tramp but…
What health and safety considerations are there?
Health and safety issues are often dealt with in a separate document called ‘the tenant’s handbook’. Make sure you receive a copy of this and that any issues not addressed in your lease…
Art and Money
Warhol's US dollar bills were sold for more than their denominational value; and Duchamp paid his dentist's bill by drawing a 400F note which was accepted in payment. What do you think of the new £5 note?…
Gift Aid: an Arts Boon?
October 1 1990 saw the start of the scheme known as Gift Aid which was announced by the Chancellor the previous March. The simplicity of the scheme and its benefits have yet to be taken…
The State of Play
Heard any good myths lately? Try these for size. ‘I thought Henry Lydiate was a middle aged rich solicitor, with a plush office in the Strand, who makes lots of money out of artists.’ or: ‘Why…
Privacy
What if I want to include information about other people in my artwork? What if I want to use an image of a celebrity in my work? If I use a pseudonym for my art can I sign documents…
The ACME of Artlaw
The general public does not generally think of the law as a creative tool but rather as something to be avoided at all costs – except perhaps when buying residential property or making a will. In…
Soul Trading
The classic ‘who, where and how’ of marketing, to which Nich Pearson implicitly referred last month (Art Monthly No 95, p.9) when bemoaning the absence of vigorous professional marketing in the visual arts in recent years, inspired serious…
Partnership
Unlike a limited company, a partnership has no legal existence distinct from the partners themselves. If one of the partners resigns, dies or goes bankrupt, the partnership must be dissolved – although the business can still continue. A partnership…
Play with Fire
The typewriter ribbon had the grace to hold out until I entered the last full stop on my overdue column for Art Occasionally. It was 4 a.m. I snapped off the desk light and realised the resulting…
Co-operative
This is a popular structure for community groups, as it shares the responsibility of running the group between members who all have equal rights and shares in the organisation. A co operative is defined by constitution, and may allow…
The Right to Destroy Artwork
Michael Landy’s Break Down installation on London’s Oxford Street opened to the public for two weeks in February 2001, and made national broadcast news headlines following the press view. The work was commissioned by The…
Cell Block
Dear Prisoner 035178 You will have wondered why you failed to receive your April copy of Art Monthly (#235), which was posted to you as usual last month. It was received at the prison on April 20, but…
Artlaw History
In November 2009 Artquest’s online practical information, advice and support service for visual artists and craftspeople was overhauled and improved. It included a major restructuring of the Artlaw Archive of articles published in Art Monthly from its first…