Duke Law Livestream: Looking Beyond the Easel

March 24, 2021 • 12:00 PM • Virtual

Should a visual artist share in the gain when a collector sells a work for more than its purchase price? Artists based in major art-market jurisdictions-with the exception of the United States and China-now have statutory resale or royalty rights (typically capped at a relatively low amount). Debates over resale rights have been shaped by often-unstated assumptions about the creation of works of art, their critical and historical assessment, and their reception in art markets that ignore the roles of institutions in defining artistic achievement, instead treating outcomes as the necessary consequence of an immutable order. Distinct institutions can reinforce each others' effects to the disadvantage of artists who are women; the vulnerability to error of interlocked institutions can assure that artists of merit remain in obscurity. Focusing as well on the context in which artists work encompasses the role that an artist's family and life partners in particular in the artist's ability to realize work. Although artists' life partners are not co-authors of work, they make sustained contributions to the artist's ability to work. As a consequence, a resale right should not terminate with the artist's death. Sponsored by the Duke Law Office of Alumni & Development. Join Professor Deborah DeMott for a conversation as we discuss these questions and more. For more information, contact us at alumni_office@law.duke.edu. Use this link to register: https://cvent.me/9KyMAy