The reports last week of the decision of the Paris High Court regarding the droit de suite (aka artist's resale right) on the sale of certain paintings by Salvador Dali are a reminder of what is coming our way. In less than five months the scheme will be extended to the UK, for deceased artists, under EU Directive 2001/84/EC and the Artist's Resale Right (Amendment) Regulations.
The scheme provides for part of the sale price of works of art, sold on the art market, to be paid to the artist or his or her heirs for 70 years from the artist’s death. The maximum amount to be paid is €12,500 per item, based on a sliding scale from 4% down to 0.25% of the price. The UK has dragged its feet for as long as possible, with the right being introduced for living artists in 2006 and it is now to be extended for deceased artists from 1 January 2012, which will quadruple its scope.
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