Artist’s Resale Right: Ten Years After
‘It is a well known melancholy truth that the tribe of auctioneers, connoisseurs, and picture dealers have monopolised the trade of pictures, and made it a matter of ridicule to purchase any modern production,…
What does creating an Inventory or Catalogue Raisonné involve?
The inventory should relate to all works of art, copyright (the artist should be aware that unless there is an agreement to the contrary, he/she will have retained copyright ownership in…
VAT for artists
Value Added Tax (VAT) is a tax charged through a business on their products and services. You only need to register to collect VAT if your income is over a certain amount. Most artists will not need…
When Collaborators Turn
Marina Abramović is being sued for breach of contract by her former artistic collaborator Ulay over works they jointly created when working and living together in Amsterdam for a dozen years: Relation Works, 1976 1988. This lawsuit…
Moral Lights
Appropriation – without a capital ‘a’ – of images by artists has been common practice throughout art history. Artists whose images are appropriated can and do use national and international copyright laws to take legal action against unlawful…
If I sell artwork through a gallery based abroad, can they deduct ‘withholding tax’ on my earnings?
‘Withholding tax’ is an amount held by the party making a payment to a payee, which will be paid to the taxation authorities.…
Guides to Interpretation
The complicated issues of how legal frameworks impact on artistic freedom of expression are explored in a new series of guides covering counter terrorism, public order, child protection, race and religion, and obscene publications. The series, badged…
Global Thinking
Artists’ bargaining power in the global art ecosystem is weak or non existent because the vast majority operate as freelance solo practitioners and, unlike other creative artists, visual artists only occasionally collectivise to create common or shared interest…
Film and Video
The Whitechapel Gallery’s current survey show ‘Electronic Superhighway 2016 1966’, is a reflection of the extent to which digital media are now being used by increasing numbers of visual artists, especially as the costs of equipment have…
Conservation
Deterioration and degradation of contemporary art increasingly concerns specialists in the field of conservation and restoration. Such experts are being asked for advice and assistance from key actors – including artists – in the art ecosystem, about work made…
Christoph Büchel v Mass MoCA
In September 2007 a US court gave judgement in an unprecedented case that focused on the meaning of authorship. It concerned an installation, Training Ground For Democracy, commissioned by the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art…
Banking on Trust
‘Men keep their agreements when it is an advantage to both parties not to break them’. This ancient saying by Solon, one of the Seven Sages of Greece, still resonates today in the arena of deal making…
Do you any up to date information regarding VAT treatment on commission owed to individual non-VAT registered artists from galleries that may or may not be VAT registered themselves?
The legal and business situation discussed in the 1979 article posted…
What should I consider when deciding whether or not to sign a written agreement with a gallery?
In particular, should I agree to a 12 month notice period and a commission on sales at exhibitions outside the gallery? The wisdom…
Can I sell an artwork that uses letters from an existing font, e.g. from a word processing program?
There are two key legal issues to consider here: whether the work will infringe copyright and the terms of the licence under…
Can I illustrate a mass-produced object such as a toy in an artwork without infringing copyright laws?
The answer is highly complex but an indication of the issues involved is given by the following simplified comments on a highly complex…
Artists’ Livelihoods
How do artists earn money, how much do they earn, and what do they do to earn it? What are the motivations and inspiration behind being an artist? a n, Arts Council England, Artquest and our partners held…
Colombia: an interview with Juan Pablo Echeverri
Artist Juan Pablo Echeverri talks to Artquest about the art scene in Colombia and his own international practice.