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.
Flavin’s Fittings
In 1928 a US Customs Court in New York ruled that Brancusi’s sculpture Bird in Space, 1923, was a work of art, not an ‘article of utility’, which US Customs had decided it was. US photographer Edward Steichen…
Dear Worried Brown Eyes
This month, I have chosen some of the most prevalent artlaw queries to deal with, in the hope that a wider readership will benefit from the answers given. Social Security and Grants “I wonder if you…
ArtlawTV: Ben White and Eileen Simpson on A Cultural Commons
A Cultural Commons – alternative approaches to copyright and the distribution of material Ben White and Eileen Simpson created the Open Music Archive to distribute music that no longer has…
What should I be aware of when working with public or private commissioners?
When working with either public or private commissioners, it is important to have a good working relationship and a sound contract or letter of agreement clearly stating…
Can the body commissioning an artwork subsequently terminate the agreement?
Invariably when undertaking a public commission you should have a written agreement with the commissioning body before you undertake any work. Unless the agreement specifically addresses the possibility of the…
How do I get permission to use copyrighted material (film, photography, literature, music etc)?
Normal practice for artists wishing to use copyright protected material in their own new works is to write to the copyright owner, explain what the new work…
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…
Ignorantia Lex Non Fit Defensia
Copyright in the visual arts is the inherent right of a creator over his/her artistic work to prevent other people copying that work. I received a novel and remarkable press release last month, issued by…
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…
Online Sales
Banksy has become the target of a print fraud, it was exclusively revealed by The Art Newspaper (October 2007): ‘unauthorised works by the anonymous graffiti artist have been sold on the internet; prices for these have been illegally…
What counts as an affordable rent?
An ‘affordable studio provider’ is an organisation managing buildings (or parts of buildings), providing affordable studio spaces. An affordable rent is usually considered one third of the open market rent.
What if I want to include information about other people in my artwork?
You need to be aware of and observe the requirements of both the UK’s confidentiality laws (enshrined in, amongst others, Articles 8 and 12 of the Human…
Digital Archives
Archiving artists’ works and related material has been greatly facilitated in recent years by significant advances in digital technology, which has stimulated museums and galleries to consider not only digitally archiving material in their collections, but also its…
©autionary Tales: Of Hoffman
Tale One In October of last year photographer David Hoffman successfully prosecuted London Borough of Tower Hamlets’ Councillor Barrie Duffey (Liberal), for distributing a leaflet which violated Hoffman’s copyright. The leaflet is not a grand affair:…
Common Sources
Jack Vettriano’s oil painting, Reach Out and Touch (February/June), 2003, was sold last year for around £35,000. It depicts a rear view of the artist, bespectacled and wearing a white collared shirt and black trousers with forked braces,…
Public Sculpture
Sculptures situated in public places can easily be photographed, filmed, or drawn without the knowledge of the sculptor, and such two dimensional reproductions might equally easily be merchandised commercially. What rights, if any, do sculptors have over their…
Bankrupt Galleries: A Cautionary Tale
Art galleries too are not recession proof, but what happens to the stock, the artwork, when they cease trading may be more complicated and certainly is unnerving for the artists involved. Auctions of liquidated stock…
Famous last words
Andy Warhol died in 1987. In the few years since his death his Estate has been beset by no fewer than three serious and complex legal wrangles. In Britain the death of Henry Moore in 1986 has…