The Artful Jurist

Famed American painter Andrew Wyeth has died at the age of 91. Both revered and reviled in the art world, he was a man who definitely left his mark. The quintessential Wyeth painting, "Christina's World," the image of a woman sprawled on the grass before what appears to be a simple farmhouse, is perhaps as visually identifiable to most people as is "Whistler's Mother."

Among the things said about Wyeth was that he was a somewhat secretive man. That description got a lot of play when it came to light in the 1980s that he had secretly painted or sketched hundreds of times his neighbor, Helga Testorf — many of those images full figure nudes — this without even telling his wife about it. (Gentlemen, for most of you, don't try this at home.)

While it may be an artist's prerogative to keep some things as his own little secret, let's hope most artists aren't secretive about at least one thing. I'm talking about their own estate planning. It's a good idea for anyone to make preparations for how they want their estate to be distributed after they're gone. But artists' estates have some special considerations because their art has intellectual property rights attached to it.

Having recently attended a class on estate planning for artists, authors, and collectors, those teaching the class stressed that an artist needs to make a clear statement of what is to be done with his art after he is gone. If it's going to a gallery or museum, first notify that gallery or museum to make certain it will accept the art. A gift that's unaccepted becomes a gift that could fall into the hands of someone the artist wouldn't have wanted to have it.

Also, the copyright on a work of art is a separate piece of property that doesn't necessarily automatically transfer to the recipient of a gift...that is, unless there's a specific statement saying it does.

And, if the artist has made use of the art for commercial purposes during his life, has the artist given away some of the rights that go along with that art even if the art, itself, still belongs to the artist's estate?

Obviously, these are only a very few issues an artist needs to ponder when doing estate planning. And, as always, everyone's specific situation is different.