Artists’ Estate Management
During their early careers, planning for posterity is a low priority for most artists. But as careers develop, especially if market and/or critical successes are achieved, what should happen to works after death becomes an increasingly important…
Dealing Differently
In 1976 this column looked at the case of a London based artist who sent work to a New York gallery for exhibition and sale in the US: the works were sold and the gallery sent the artist…
The Artist’s Estate
A tale of an ill drawn Will and 798 paintings was told in this column 40 years ago following a New York State court’s 1975 decision in favour of Mark Rothko’s children, who had contested their father’s…
California: an interview with Kelly-Lynn Jones
Kelly Lynn Jones has been making a name for herself in San Francisco as the founder of internationally renowned creative platform and store, Little Paper Planes. Despite worldwide recognition amongst lovers of handcrafted…
40 Years On
From the inaugural issue of Art Monthly in October 1976 to date, this column has been published regularly. Its original raison d’être was driven by the then marked absence of available resources on art law, in particular…
Interfaces Monthly
Open deadline
Interfaces Monthly is a get together for people working at the junction of art and technology, organised by the Barbican and The Trampery. Each event includes selected artworks, presentations and discussions. They accept proposals on any form of work…
What should I know about copyright as a freelance artist/educator who facilitates workshops?
As a freelance artist/educator who develops and facilitates workshops and projects for institutions, what should I know about copyright and how can I protect my copyright and…
The Code of Art
The idea of art industry self regulation is accepted by an increasingly wide range of art market professionals and their expert advisers, but there is no agreement amongst them on best ways and means of successfully…
Art Industry Self-Regulation
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland during January 2015, leading world economist Nouriel Roubini publicly attacked the global art industry for being secretive and opaque, and called for its regulation. Roubini’s remarks were based on…
Should I Stay or Should I Go?
‘There are no votes in the arts. Nobody’s interested.’ This was the instinctive response of re election obsessed Jim Hacker when bridling at Sir Humphrey’s insistence that his PM should speak at a…
Fair Use
The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation recently announced a new Fair Use policy to make images of the artist’s work more accessible to museums, scholars, artists and the public (Artnotes AM395). This enlightened and innovative approach represents the first artist’s…
Artists’ studios
For many artist studios are an important part of working life. This article considers the role of the studio in an artists career. Studios and the organisations that run them come in different shapes and sizes. There is…
Artists’ right to unemployment benefit
At a time of mass unemployment and world wide recession, how does the unemployed artist fare in the welfare state? Will unemployment or supplementary benefits be paid? Does the state have a duty to meet…
Further information
Arts Council England has published a Model Constitution for Unincorporated Associations and Model memorandum and Articles of Association for charitable arts organisations. Both are available online free of charge. If you are looking for existing studio groups, you…
Dire Straits: in the gallery
Although great strength and power can be drawn from legal information and knowledge, the processes of applying and using the law are often regarded as too cumbersome, complex and costly to be of any real…
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…
Public Art and the Law
Architects’ collaboration with artists and craftworkers has been the subject of serious debate and some activity over the past five years. The ‘art and architecture’ movement in the U.K. started with the 1982 ICA Conference,…
Doing a Deal: Part 1
Selling work is the primary source of income for most commercially successful artists, and is the strongest aspiration of most of those for whom a market place is not established. It is no surprise that…