Visual artists sue over unpaid royalties in California

Artist Chuck Close, the estate of sculptor Robert Graham and artists have launched legal action against several top auction houses, alleging they violated a California law requiring royalty payments for the sale of their artwork.

Federal lawsuits filed against Sotheby's, Christie's and eBay on Tuesday are seeking class-action status, in an effort to open up the action to other artists as well.

The lawsuits allege that the auctioneers have violated the California Resale Royalty Act, a 1977 law enacted to give visual artists a financial cut from the sale of artworks they had created but no longer own. They are seeking unspecified damages.

According to the statute, artists of "one-of-a-kind" pieces of fine art (defined as "an original painting, sculpture, or drawing, or an original work of art in glass") are due five per cent of the proceeds from the sale of their creations, given several conditions, such as if the seller resides in California or the exchange itself occurs in the state.

The law extends to cover the heirs of an artist, up to 20 years after the original artist's death.

The suits accuse the auction houses of participating in a "pattern of conduct" that was intended to conceal if a sale or a seller was in California. Lawyer Eric M. George, who filed the complaints in federal court, told the Los Angeles Times that the failure to pay the royalties is a denial of artists' rights.

"How they've gotten away with it for this long is a mystery," he told the Times.

Compliance with the law among art dealers is "spotty at best," he added.

Though eBay didn't release a comment, a Sotheby's statement blasted the legal action.

"We believe the claim is meritless and it will be vigorously defended," Sotheby's said.

A representative for Christie's described the California Resale Royalties Act "as subject to serious legal challenges" in a statement, adding that "Christie's looks forward to addressing these issues in court."