Displaying items by tag: visual artists

Edward Hopper seems to be popular on both sides of the political fence in his home state of New York. A bill recently passed in the state legislature to establish the Edward Hopper Citation of Merit, was sponsored in the Assembly by the Democrat Ellen Jaffee, who represents Hopper’s native Rockland County, and in the Senate by the Republican Barbara Little, who represents Warren County.

The $10,000 award will be presented biennially to “a distinguished New York visual artist who is making a significant contribution to the advancement of the arts in New York State”, according to the bill, and aims to both honor the late artist and support contemporary art.

The National Academy in New York has announced that it has added 13 new visual artists and architects to its ranks. Among the elected 2014 National Academicians are Ida Applebroog, Jane Dickson, Martin Puryear, Edward Ruscha, Joan Semmel, Stanley Whitney, Peter Bohlin, Preston Scott Cohen, Michael Manfredi and Marion Weiss, Eric Owen Moss, Antoine Predock, and Charles Renfro.

“2014 is an exceptional year for the National Academy with this new class of Academicians,” said Bruce Fowle, President of the National Academy, in a statement.

Major auction houses are voicing opposition to a new bill called the American Royalties Too Act, which would grant visual artists (or their estates) a portion of the profits when their work is resold at public auction. The bill was introduced last month in the House by Representative Jerrold Nadler, a Democrat from New York, and in the Senate by Democrats Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin.

In December 2013, the United States Copyright Office re-examined its policy concerning visual artists and resale royalties. Last time the issue was explored, which was in 1992, the Office decided that artists should not receive a share of the profits when their works are resold. However, after more than a decade, the Copyright Office reversed its decision and stated that resale royalties should be awarded to visual artists, including painters, illustrators, sculptors, and photographers.

Lawyers for Sotheby’s visited lawmakers on Capitol Hill this month, asking Congress to shoot down the bill. They are joined in the fight by Christie’s, who have hired David Israelite, a royalty battle veteran and the CEO of the National Music Publishers’ Association. The auction houses consider the bill an added cost that will increase the price of doing business, which could lead to more sellers making deals through private transactions rather than public auctions. They are also arguing that the royalties would solely benefit the most successful artists and estates as they are the ones whose work is most often sold in the secondary market. Galleries and dealers are not included in the proposed bill.

Representative Robert W. Goodlatte, a Republican from Virginia and the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, will decide whether to schedule hearings on the bill.

According to a report released on December 13 by the United States Copyright Office, in the past two decades, over 70 countries have changed their policies concerning resale royalties to better serve visual artists.  

For the first time since 1992, the United States Copyright Office has re-examined its policy concerning visual artists and resale royalties. Last time the issue was explored, the Office decided that artists should not receive a share of the profits when their works are resold. However, after more than a decade, the Copyright Office has reversed its decision and is asking Congress to reconsider giving resale royalties to visual artists including painters, illustrators, sculptors and photographers.

In a report released on Friday, December 13, the Office admitted that “the current system leaves visual artists at a practical disadvantage in relation to other kinds of authors…. Because most artworks are not produced in copies, the visual artist receives a financial interest in only one work – or at best a few copies of that work. To alleviate the effects of this financial disparity, the Office believes that Congress should consider ways to rectify the problem and to further incentivize and support the development and creation of visual art.”

In the past two decades, over 70 countries have changed their policies concerning resale royalties to better serve visual artists.

For the first time in its 187-year history, the New York-based National Academy will welcome photographers, video artists, and performance artists to its organization. A community of artists, students, museum-goers, and supporters of the arts, the National Academy had previously only allowed painters, sculptors, printmakers, and architects to be voted into membership. Known as National Academicians, each year since 1825 a select group of the country’s most celebrated artists are elected to become members of the Academy.

This year’s inductees include the video and performance artist Joan Jonas (b. 1936), photographer Cindy Sherman (b. 1954), and video artist Bill Viola (b. 1951). Twenty other newly elected visual artists and architects will join the Academy’s 300+ active members this year. After being inducted, each Academician presents the Academy Museum with a selection from their oeuvre. The National Academy Museum’s permanent collection currently includes over 7,000 works. Past and present National Academicians include Andrew Wyeth (1917-2009), Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959), and Frank Gehry (b. 1929).

The National Academy also includes the Academy School, which offers studio-based classes. Over 30 faculty members lead courses and workshops in painting, drawing, sculpture, new media, video and photography, printmaking, mixed media, and art theory.