Who Owns a Painting’s Copyright?

Artists and patrons may come across the important question of who owns a painting’s copyright, either when buying or selling artwork.

The answer is simple on the surface: the copyright – the right to make copies or sell licenses to re-use the work – belongs to the original artist whose creative decisions are included in the piece. Copyright lasts for the artist’s lifetime plus 70 years. After an artist dies, their estate owns the copyright to their body of work. An artist’s estate may be managed by a family member, gallery or other entity assigned by law.

However, once an artist has sold an original painting or a print, the physical painting belongs to the buyer, who then has the right to own it and sell it to someone else.

The exception to the above is when an artist signs an agreement handing over his or her copyright to their client. This could occur if the artist accepts a special commission like a book cover or CD cover, for example.

Why is copyright important?

Independent artists who make a living from their art need the revenue they receive from selling the rights to their work.

But if an artist works full-time or part-time for a company, their work may be considered work for hire, meaning they transfer the copyright to their creations over to their employer. In this case, the artist would only benefit from their monthly salary and not from the resale of their copyright, unless they have an agreement with their employer that they retain their copyright under certain circumstances.

What does copyright have to do with art?

Copyright seems to be a cut-and-dried legal term. What does it have to do with the inspiration of art? If an artist sees their work copied without their permission or without financial gain or recognition for their work, they will be less motivated to make more art and everyone will be poorer.

It takes endless time and study to create an artwork. Like anyone else, the artist must be paid for the investment they make in terms of time and money. Adding to the value of art, there is a relatively small number of artists who make a living from their work. Out of 67 million people in the UK, there are just 55,000 active artists.

An artist can sell their painting or other artwork once, but they can sell the painting’s prints and licenses many times over to galleries, individuals and other entities. When the artist has an incentive to keep creating, the art world grows and more people can feel inspired by great artworks and the power of the imagination.