Art world in uproar over resale rights

Date: 23/05/1996

By Fiona McHugh

THE European Commission will put its plans to introduce EU-wide levies on the sale of contemporary works of art on show for the first time at next week's meeting of internal market ministers.

Under the proposal, artists, sculptors and photographers, or their heirs, would be entitled to a 2 to 4&percent; share of the profits made from the resale of their works during their lifetime and for up to 70 years after their death.

The plan is expected to get mixed reviews from ministers when they meet next Tuesday (28 May), with governments torn between the conflicting interests of artists in need of extra cash and European auction houses desperate to keep their place in a competitive global art world.

Copyright laws granting artists or their estates a percentage of the money made when their works are resold by public auction or through an agent exist in most EU countries. But in the UK, Ireland, Austria and the Netherlands, artists receive nothing.

According to the Commission, the current patchwork of laws creates a distortion of the single market. Officials point out that under the existing system, the UK artist David Hockney is rewarded when one of his paintings is sold in Paris, for example, while the estate of the French artist Matisse receives nothing when one of his works is sold in London.

Germany and France complain that their art industries suffer as a result, with vendors choosing to sell contemporary art in London, where resale rights do not exist, rather than in Bonn or Paris.

“Of course they go to London because it is cheaper. We are supposed to have a single market - why should the art business be an exception?” said a German diplomat.

But while some of the EU's heavyweights have welcomed the draft measure, the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands and Austria view it with suspicion. The British government, in particular, is opposed on the grounds that it might damage the UK's thriving art industry.

“We have already examined this issue and we have decided against it. Our position is unlikely to change,” said one British diplomat.

London's top auction houses argue the law would drive art sales out of the EU.

“This will destroy what is a very healthy market for 20th century art. Sellers will move to New York, Geneva or the Far East. It is as simple as that,” said Anthony Browne, a director at the UK auction house Christies and a member of the British Art Market Federation.

Artists organisations, however, are jubilant. “I think it is an excellent idea. Artists need to make a livelihood, and I think this will help a lot,” said Janet Ibbotson, deputy chief executive of the Design and Artists Copyright Society.

She dismisses Browne's claim that the proposal would threaten Europe's auctioneers, insisting that “people come to Europe, not because auction houses here offer a cheap deal, but because they have expert knowledge of the business”.

Under the Commission's proposal, resale rights would be calculated as a percentage of the sale price of a painting, sculpture or photograph. Three different rates would apply: 4&percent; on works sold for between 1,000 and 50,000 ecu, 3&percent; on those sold for between 50,000 and 250,000 ecu, and 2&percent; on pieces which fetched more than 250,000 ecu.

The proposal requires the support of a qualified majority of member states and the European Parliament before it can become law.