What work should I get paid for?
If you work in the arts you should get paid. Even if you volunteer you should get paid expenses so that working does not cost you anything. Many people in the arts do…
Claiming money owed to you through the Courts
If you are owed a small amount of money you have two choices, you must either persuade who owes you money to do so amicably, or you must take court action. As…
Making and selling an artist’s book edition
A detailed case study of Paul Greenleaf’s experiences self publishing and selling an artist’s book edition. In this article he: If you are interested in making artists’ book, also read Tom Sowden’s article…
Commissioning Contemporary Art
There is a real shortage of published material that authoritatively and comprehensively covers the complex and extensive challenges of commissioning new artworks: conceptual, cultural, ethical, managerial, financial and legal. A new book, Commissioning Contemporary Art: a handbook…
Catch-22 Inheritance Tax
The absolute certainty of death and taxes poses an unavoidable estate planning question for owners of artworks: how will they be valued for inheritance tax purposes? A recent valuation dispute between the US Government’s Inland Revenue Service…
Gallery of Lost Art
Summer 2012 in the UK was notable for the opening of two unique exhibitions with closely related themes: invisible art and lost art. On 12 June London’s Hayward Gallery opened ‘Invisible: Art About the Unseen 1957…
Authenticity Certificates Value
What is the essence of a Sol LeWitt wall drawing? What makes these works – which famously exist as a series of instructions, executable by anyone who owns them – authentic LeWitts and not just some lines…
If I use a pseudonym can I sign documents and contracts with a gallery under my legal name?
Historically there have been many artists who have signed their works without using their full legal name, or any part of it,…
How and why do collectors collect?
These films commissioned by Own Art give insight into how and why people decide to collect art. It’s rarely for investment, and overwhelmingly for the happiness living with works of art brings them. The collectors…
Faisal Abdu’allah: on money
Artist and barber Faisal Abdu’allah shares a highly personal account of his relationship with money. ‘…..For the love of money People will steal from their mother For the love of money People will rob their own…
Susan Royce: avoiding the hobbyist approach
What does it mean to turn doing what you love into a business? Art consultant Susan Royce shares her thoughts. I started working in the arts as a happy accident. I soon realised I…
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…
Hiring people
Even if you are self employed, there may come a point when you need more formal assistance in your practice. For example, you might need to produce a large commission and need help for the period of a…
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…
Argentina: a tour around MALBA, the Museum of Latinamerican Art in Buenos Aires
London based artist Laura Malacart interviews artist/art historian Matilde Llambi Campbell at the Educational Department at Malba. Interviewed in 2012. Laura Malacart: Malba is an astounding museum…
Artwork Liabilities
The marked deterioration of Damien Hirst’s The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living, 1991 – the tiger shark in a vitrine of formaldehyde – was the subject of a prescient article by contemporary art…
Working as a sound artist
Jason Singh writes on working as a sound artist. This includes his experience of opportunities, earning, networking and workshops. What is sound art? Wikipedia defines sound art as: “..a diverse group of art practices that…
Editioning
If you work in a medium that can be duplicated, such as photography, digital or print work, learning how to edition and price your work properly is a useful way to sell. An edition is a number of prints…