For instance I know Paul Gauguin had a few children, when people write about him or his paintings get sold and moved around, does his family receive anything? Relatives of Monet, Manet, Van Gough or Dali?
To answer this question, you must be logged in.
Already have an account? Login.
By Signing up, you indicate that you have read and agree to Sage's Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy
You must be logged in to perform this operation.
You must be logged in to perform this operation.
Answers ( 1 )
The great works of art of the past were created long before current copyright laws existed, so they are in the public domain. Even when a work of art is still protected by copyright law, the work can be bought and sold and the artist or their estate is owed no further compensation.
Royalties are licensing fees for reproducing a work while it is still protected by copyright.
An Example
David Hockney painted "Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)" in 1972 and his New York dealer sold it for $18,000. Hockney likely received a little under $12,000 of that. Within six months, it was sold again for $50,000. It was auctioned several more times throughout the years until in 2018 it sold at an auction at Christie’s for $90.3 million. Hockney sees none of that money. Before you feel too sad for him note that Hockney’s net worth is estimated at $40 million.
The current owner of “Portrait” can not sell posters, T-shirts or coffee mugs with a picture of that work on them. Hockney can sell them to his heart’s content.
Consignment
If you consign a painting to be created by an artist, the artist still owns the copyright since most of these agreements are informal, unless a contract assigns the copyright to the purchaser as well. The artist can base new works on it or sell products with the image on them even if the person who consigned the work isn’t happy about that.
Work-For-Hire
If an artist works for a company and creates art for them, it and the copyright is owned by the company, or in the case where the contract for a freelancer specifies that it is a work-for-hire, which it probably will.