Re: droit de suite

On 04/01/2000, Christine L. Sundt <csundt[_at_]oregon.uoregon.edu> wrote:
>
> In the world of art & auctions, sales & prices paid ARE published.
> When I worked in a museum as a grad student, my job was to match the
> price record for a sale with its auction catalog. Our museum received
> all the sales information from several auction houses concerning
> certain types of art that the museum was interested in collecting.
> All of the major auction houses sell subscriptions to this
> information, but few museums or libraries can afford to purchase
> everything (and later store it!). Nowadays, this information is sold
> online. Occasionally buyers' names are not listed, but at least the
> sale price is there. As an art historian, I have been able to track
> down provenance of even some lesser masters, but the process is
> time-consuming and sometimes expensive. Also, besides the auction
> houses' price lists, many other publications track art sales. Check
> your local library or ask a librarian for more help in finding these.

Thanks Christine. Maybe some computer literate group will think of setting up a central database to make this material easier to retrieve and not at unusual expense. I'm beginning to think that droit de suite might not work unless some substructure of this type were already in place. Also there would have to be a mechanism for putting in a claim without having to hire an attorney.

I believe it costs, at present, $8 for a copy of one's credit report; some price in that neighborhood would be fair -- and should eventually be achievable -- for an artist to receive a printout of auction prices for his or her work, with dates, identification of works sold, and buyers. As a model for dispute resolution without an attorney, I'm thinking of how one seeks correction for an error on a credit card statement. Usually, it's sufficient to remind the vendor that one returned the merchandise, never received it, or whatever. The vendors by and large are cooperative and reasonable, because they want to maintain a good reputation with the issuer of the credit card.

Anyone following the cni-copyright list might be now have received the impression that auction houses, museums, or those who purport to speak on their behalf, are rapacious and unregenerate sharks maniacally determined not to yield up even one penny under any circumstances even though hell freeze over first. One reasonably asks if a law can work in the face of a concerned party so determined not to act in good faith. I think, though, that people resign themselves to a law once that law is in place, and the expressions of rage and hostility tend to taper off over time. The Whiskey Rebellion is an interesting example. One of George Washington's first administrative acts, after the American Revolution, was to impose a tax on whiskey, because there had to be taxes on something if the government was to be funded. Infuriated Pennsylvania farmers armed themselves and gathered at Bedford PA. George Washington came down and confronted the farmers, and the farmers went home. I don't think even one shot was fired. Today, two centuries later, people have long resigned themselves to the taxes on alcoholic beverages that once caused a ruckus. One doesn't find people with rifles in liquor stores screaming about how they refuse to pay the tax.

If droit de suite were instituted, even the London auction house would eventually settle down. They'd remember that it's good business to be concerned about one's reputation, and to at least put up a pretense that one can be depended on to act in good faith.

pat sloane
<patsloane[_at_]aol.com> Received on Sat Apr 01 2000 - 18:27:13 GMT