California Legal Requirements When Selling "Multiples" (original) (raw)

Art Law by Ann Avery Andres, Esq.

California Legal Requirements When Selling "Multiples"

(Most states have similar laws and you should check your local statutes for variations in specific disclosure requirements. California requirements are as comprehensive as any states).

Q: You have purchased a very beautiful lithograph at a gallery in Laguna Beach. When you bought the lithograph the dealer told you it was signed by the artist and was the 25th print out of 100 printed. In pencil on the left side of the bottom margin appeared "25/100."

Now you want to sell the lithograph to another dealer who has expressed an interest in buying it. The art dealer asks you for the "Certificate of Authenticity" and when you tell her that you don't have one, the dealer refuses to buy the lithograph telling you that it is not saleable without the certificate. Is the dealer's statement true or false? True.

When selling a "multiple" the law requires an art dealer to provide a "Certificate of Authenticity." A "multiple" is defined as any fine print, photograph, sculpture cast, collage, or similar art object produced in more than one copy. It also includes pages or sheets taken from books and magazines. A fine print or "print" means a multiple produced by, but not limited to, engraving, etching, woodcutting, lithography and serigraphy and multiples produced or developed from photographic negatives or any combination thereof.

When you purchased the lithograph from the dealer in Laguna Beach, she should have provided you with the "Certificate of Authenticity." This certificate must state all of the following: the name of the artist; if the artist's name appears on the multiple, a statement whether the multiple was signed by the artist personally; if the multiple was not signed by the artist personally, a statement of the source of the artist's name on the multiple such as whether the artist placed his signature on the multiple or on the master, whether his name was stamped or estate stamped on the multiple or on the master, or was from some other source or in some other manner placed on the multiple or on the master; a description of the medium or process and where pertinent to photographic processes, the material used in producing the multiple such as whether the multiple was produced through the etching, engraving, lithographic, serigraphic or a particular method or material used in photographic developing processes; if the multiple is a photomechanical or

There have many abuses by dealers, and others, in the sale of multiples. The law is designed to hold the dealer/seller to high standards of disclosure in order to avoid fraud as well as mistakes in sales.

photographic type of reproduction, or as to sculptures a surmoulage or other form of reproduction of sculpture cases, of an image produced in a different medium, for a purposeotherthanthecreationofthe multiplebeingsold,a statementofthisinformationandtherespective mediums;andifthislaststatementapplies,andthemultipleisnotsigned,a statementwhethertheartistauthorizedorapprovedinwritingthemultipleor theeditionofwhichthemultiplebeingsoldisone;iftheartistwasdeceasedat thetimethemasterwasmadewhichproducedthemultiple,thismustbestated; ifthemultipleisa "posthumous"multiple,thatis,ifthemasterwascreated duringthelifeoftheartistbutthemultiplewasproducedaftertheartist's death,thismostbestated;if themultiplewasmadefroma masterwhich produceda priorlimitededition,orfroma masterwhichconstitutesorwas madefroma reproductionorsurmoulageofa priormultipleorthemaster whichproducedthepriorlimitededition,thismustbestatedasmustthetotal numberofmultiples, includingproofs,ofallothereditionsproducedfromthat master;theyearthemultiplewasproducedmustbestated;whetherthe multipleisbeingofferedasa limitededition,andifso:(1)theauthorized maximumnumberofsignedornumberedimpressionsorbothintheedition,(2) theauthorized maximumnumberofunsignedorunnumberedimpressionsor both,intheedition,(3)theauthorizedmaximumnumberofartist'spublisher's orotherproofs,ifany,outsideoftheregulareditionand(4)thetotalsizeofthe edition;and,finally,whetherornotthemasterhasbeendestroyed,effaced, altereddefacedorcanceled afterthecurrentedition.

Q:Nowthatyouknowwhatthelawrequiresofa dealer,youshouldgobacktothe dealerinLagunaBeachanddemandyourmoneybackora "Certificateof Authenticity,"True orFalse? True.

Ifthelithographisreturnedwithinoneyearfromthedateofpurchase, thelawrequiresthedealertoreturn thepurchasepricePLUSinterest.Ifitis determinedthatthedealer willfullysoldthemultiplewithouttheCertificate of Authenticityandprovidedyouwithinformationthatwasmistaken,erroneous oruntrue,thedealerisliableforthreetimesthepurchaseprice.And,if you havetofilea lawsuitforyourrecovery,thecourtmayawardyoucosts,attorney feesandthecostsofexpertwitnesses'fees.But,ifthecourtdeterminesthe lawsuit was brought by you in bad faith (no basis for the claim), the court may award the same costs and expenses to the seller. The offending art dealer is also subject to a $1000.00 fine and an injunction not to continue sales without a Certificate of Authenticity.

In the case of Grogan-Beall v. Ferdinand Roten Galleries, Inc. a woman who sued the gallery under the California Sale of Pine Prints Act was required to tender to the defendants the print at issue as a precondition to recovery. It is important that the print be in the same condition as it was at the time of sale.

Ann Avery Andres practices law in Santa Ana,CA. She may be reached at 714.558.7775. Her address is 322 West Third Street, Santa Ana, CA 92701.

Read more about Art Law by Ann Avery Andres in Resource Library Magazine

Resource Library Editor's note: Laws regarding the content of this article may have changed since it was published in 1999. Please seek legal counsel for current information.

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