Page 24 - Studio International - April 1971

all your work is sold under the contract, that it about signing the Agreement in the first place. Arnolfini Gallery;
is standard for your work. Later owners will be more likely to try to cheat
If he buys work only from those few artists you than the first owner, with whom you or 10 years in Bristol
who won't insist on using the Agreement he is your dealer have had some face-to-face contact,
being very foolish; non-use of this Agreement is but there are strong reasons why both first and
a very dumb criterion for building one's future owners should fulfil the contract's terms.
collection. What happens if owner number two sells
There are other things that you can point your work to owner number three and doesn't
out to the reluctant collector: first of all, it's not send you the transfer form ? (He's not sending
going to cost him anything unless your work your money, either.)
appreciates in value. If that doesn't cut any ice, Nothing happens. (You don't know about it
and he wants to keep all of whatever profit he yet.)
might make with your work, you can simply Sooner or later you do find out about it
write in a higher value for it, thus giving him a because it takes a lot of effort to conceal such
free ride for the first part of the appreciation he sales and the grapevine will get the news to you
anticipates; (or your dealer) anyway. To conceal the sale,
if and when he sells your work and he owes owner number three has to conceal the work and
you some payment, he doesn't necessarily have he's not going to hide a good and valuable work
to pay you with money; you can give him credit just to save a little money. And if he ever wants
against the purchase of a new work or take to sell it, repair it, appraise it or authenticate it,
payment in services or something other than he has to come to you (or your dealer). When
money; you do find out about such a transfer—and you
of course, if a collector buys a work without will—you sue owner number two, who will be
the contract when the use of the Agreement has stuck for 15 per cent of the increase based on the
become the standard practice for the artist, the price to owner number three or on the value at
collector will have to rely on sheer good will the time you find out about it, which may be
when he later wants the artist (or his/her much higher. Clearly, a seller (in this case
dealer) to appraise, repair or authenticate it. owner number two) would be extremely foolish
Why he should expect to find any good will to take this chance, to risk having to pay a lot of
there is anybody's guess. money just to save a little money.
Is the collector really going to pass up your As to falsifying values reported to the artist,
work because you want him to sign the contract ? there will be as much pressure from the new
Work that he likes and thinks is worth having ? owner to put in a falsely high value as from the
If the answer is yes —given the fact that it won't old owner to put in a low value. There are real
cost him anything to give you the respect that difficulties inherent in getting two people to lie
you as the creator of the work deserve—if that in unison, especially if it only benefits one of
will keep him from buying, he is being very them—the seller. In 95 per cent of the cases the
stubborn and foolish and nobody can tell you amount of money to be paid to the artist won't
how to illuminate him. be enough to compel the collectors to lie to you.
Using the contract doesn't mean that all your You will note that in the event you have to
relationships in the art world will hereafter be sue to enforce any of your rights under the
strictly business or that you will have to enforce Agreement. ARTICLE NINETEEN gives
your rights down to the last penny. Friends will you the right to recover reasonable attorney's
still be friends; you will be able to waive your fees in addition to whatever else you may be
rights to payments (in whole or in part), your entitled to.
right to make repairs, to grant reproduction `The Arnolfini Gallery was officially opened
rights, to be consulted—but they will be your SUMMATION last Friday evening at 42 Triangle West with
rights and the choices will be_ ours. We realise that this Agreement is essentially an exhibition of paintings -I- drawings by
The Agreement form has been prepared to be unprecedented in the art world and that it just Josef Herman and Peter Swan. This was an
used by any and all artists—known, well known may cause a little rumbling and trembling; on occasion. Not since Frost & Reed tentatively
and unknown. Simply make a lot of copies and the other hand, the ills it remedies are raised their conservative shutters in 18o8 has a
use it whenever you give, trade or sell your work. universally acknowledged to exist and no other gallery of such promise and singleness of
It will be effective from the moment you use it. practical way has ever been devised to cure them. purpose emerged from this city.'
The more artists and dealers there are using it, Whether or not you, the artist, use it, is of Western Daily Press, Bristol. 8 March 1961
the better and easier it will be for everybody. It course up to you; what we have given you is a
requires no organization, no dues, no legal tool which you can use yourself to establish Having completely failed to raise any outside
government agency, no meetings, no public on-going rights when you transfer your work. capital for the project, the three partners each
registration, no nothing—just your will to use it. This is a substitute for what has existed before— contributed £100 and took out a fourteen-year
Just plug it in and watch it go—a perfect waffle nothing. lease of the Gallery's original premises. The
every time ! We have done this for no recompense, for Gallery continued as a partnership on a
just the pleasure and challenge of the problem, hand-to-mouth financial basis until 1966 when
ENFORCEMENT feeling that should there ever be a question about it was changed to a non-profit-distributing
First, let's put this question in perspective: artists' rights in reference to their art, the artist limited company with Educational Charity
most people will honour the Agreement because is more right than anyone else. status and received its first grant from the Arts
most people honour agreements. Those few SETH SIEGELAUB Council.
people who will try to cheat you are likely to be New York While its income has increased considerably
the same kinds who will give you a hard time February 24, 1971 through the generosity of a small number of
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