In Brief: Artists and their estates receive over £1 million from Artists Resale Right royalties

Artists and their estates receive over £1 million from Artists Resale Right royalties The Design and Artists Copyright Society (DACS) scheme recovers money owed to visual artists and estates by galleries, auction houses and dealers from previously undeclared secondary sales.

600 artists and estates have benefitted since February 2015, when DACS began a campaign to address the issue of some art market professionals who had not been declaring sales. Since then, it has recovered royalties relating to sales of almost 2,000 artworks worth over £50 million.

The latest figures mean the total paid out since the Artist’s Resale Right was first introduced in the UK in 2006 is now over £100 million.

One beneficiary has been the estate of artist Terry Frost. His son Anthony Frost said: “Looking after my dad’s artworks and being an artist myself, you don’t always know where your work ends up. DACS helps to keep track of artworks sold and ensure we get the royalties due. Every amount of Artist’s Resale Royalties helps to protect my dad’s legacy and the work we do in managing the interest in his life and work.”

Gilane Tawadros, DACS chief executive, said: “Through the diligence and commitment of the DACS team, we are ensuring that artists and artists’ estates receive the royalties which are due to them. It is vitally important that there is a fair and level playing field in the art market for both artists and estates as well as for all the auction houses and galleries who conscientiously adhere to the law and pay the royalty due to artists and estates.”

Artist Sir Peter Blake added: “The Artist’s Resale Right provides recognition of my early works, which I created in the days when I was so broke. It is reassuring that DACS works diligently to collect royalties for previously unreported sales, ensuring artists at the beginning of their careers and those that depend on this income are benefitting fully from this important right. Artists and their estates rely greatly on a level of financial stability to continue their work.”

DACS claim that the majority of previously non-compliant art market professionals now regularly submit sales data on ARR-eligible art works. The total recovered royalty payments made to individual artists and estates now ranges from £30 to £90,000.

Southbank Centre to stop advertising with Daily Mail following ‘homophobic’ column The controversial article by columnist Richard Littlejohn claimed that having two dads is ‘not normal’. In response, more than 4,000 people have signed a petition on Change.org calling for the theatre industry to stop advertising with the paper.

As the Stage reports, The Southbank Centre has not confirmed whether its decision is directly linked to Littlejohn’s column. However, a spokeswoman said: “We reach out to audiences through wide-ranging online and offline media titles, across the political spectrum. We monitor the environment in which our advertising appears, to ensure the values of a publication are compatible with our own. We have no future plans to advertise within the Daily Mail.”

Education Secretary suggests arts and social science tuition fees could be cut In an interview with the Sunday Times, Damian Hinds, Conservative MP for East Hampshire, suggested that fees should be charged in relation to the cost of delivering a course and also potential future earnings.

He said: “We have a system where you have got almost all institutions and almost all courses at those institutions charging exactly the same price. Some have higher returns to the student than others.”

In a speech on Monday, prime minister Theresa May outlined further details of a review of the system in England.

Survey shows 80% of councils fear for their sustainability, putting local museums at risk The State of Local Government Finance Survey, published by the Local Government Information Unit (LGIU) and the Municipal Journal, showed that 95% of councils plan to raise council tax, with two thirds also being forced to spend money from their reserves.

Examples include Northamptonshire County Council, whose £20,000 a year grant to Museums Development East Midlands (MDEM) will be cut from April. The money previously paid for its work with training and volunteer development for museums in the region.

Elsewhere, Surrey Heritage, which supports the Surrey History Centre, the county’s heritage conservation team, and the Surrey County Archaeological Unit, has been hit with in-year cuts of £85,000 from its £1m budget from Surrey County Council. The details of the cuts were revealed by an investigation published by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.

X-ray reveals artwork hidden under Picasso painting A landscape has been revealed to be hidden underneath Pablo Picasso’s La Misereuse Accroupie (The Crouching Beggar), which currently hangs in the Art Gallery of Ontario, Canada. However, the painter of the original landscape still remains a mystery, with initial suggestions it was by artist Joaquín Torres-García being dismissed by experts.

Image:
1. Anthony Frost, Estate of Terry Frost, photographed by Brian Benson for DACS. © Brian Benson, 2017

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