Frank Stella has been called the father of minimalism. In the 1960s when he first started coming to people’s attention, his work could sell for a few thousands dollars.
Now, some of those same works can sell for millions of dollars at auction at places like Christie’s or Sotheby’s.
But Stella receives nothing.
If he were a musician or a novelist, he would receive residuals every time someone bought his album or novel. But in the U.S., for visual artists like Stella, a work of art is considered private property, sold from one person to the next like a car or a house
That could change if a bill sponsored by New York Congressman Jerry Nadler (D) is approved.
ART, or “American Royalties Too”Act, originally proposed a 5 percent tax on every public auction sale above $5,000 that would go to the artist. After amendments, the bill now has a maximum sales cap of $700,000, so no artist would receive more than $35,000 from an auction sale.
read more at: wnyc.org
