Kennylex Luckless, My very own watermelon on coffin via Flickr
In Australia we are not very good at planning for death. We are not even good at talking about it.
But for an artist of a certain career statue, the consideration of what will happen to their inventory and archive after they die should not be brushed under the carpet as a topic too hard.
What you have worked towards in your lifetime can so quickly go to ruin or waste if not managed correctly.
ArtsHub caught up with gallerist Christopher Hodges, who manages the estates of Peter Upward, Marea Gazzard and David Aspden, for a little help in navigating this quagmire.
Hodges said: ‘Firstly, you have to be fairly realistic where you sit in the scheme of things, and then you have to work out who will manage it as the A priority.’
It was a point echoed by Berliner Loretta Würtenberger, who created the Institute for Artists’ Estates this year with Daniel Tümpel, a world-first offering professional consulting and a network of existing estate managers. In June they launched the book The Artist Estate: A Handbook for Artists, Executors and Heirs, and in September will hold the first conference on the topic, Keeping the legacy alive.
An ex-copyright lawyer, Würtenberger co-manages the estate of Hans Arp and Sophie Taeuber-Arp among other artists.
She told Artnews: ‘The best gift you could give to your heirs: Leave an organized estate and a clear idea of how it should be managed.’
Good versus bad estates
If you have seen the Danish television drama The Legacy (Arvingerne), they will know just how wrong things can go when an artist doesn’t leave clear instructions – botched documentation, faked artworks, family legal battles.
Hodges advised: ‘Artists do need to think about this, and if you don’t your estate will fall to your relatives, so at least you need to give guidance to them.’
There are stellar examples of artists’ heirs who manage estates with professional skills. Donald Judd’s daughter Rainer Judd, Tseng Kwong Chi’s sister Muna Tseng, in Australia Lynne Williams, wife of the late Fred Williams have stepped up to manage estates with professional aplomb.
Artist and dealer Brett Stone says that Lynne Williams could write the Australian book on the topic. Understanding placement and pace of the work is essential.
‘She has been really generous with giving, as has Karen Aspden, placing key works with institutions to make sure their collection holdings are improved,’ he said.
Karen Aspden, widow of David Aspden, sought out new representation for her husband with Hodges some years after his death and Stone has curated an exhibition from the Aspden estate, which is currently on show at Utopia Art Sydney.
Installation view David Aspden at Utopia Art Sydney; courtesy the gallery and estate
Realistic expectations
But they are the exceptions. While family and relatives may have shared in the ride of an artist’s success and earnestly celebrated their work, most are not arts professionals and it is unlikely they are competent with issues such as managing the copyright of image reproduction, resale royalties, professional authenticating works, tracking inventory and freight.
You have to be realistic about the capabilities of the trustees and also the capacity of the estate.
‘The reason that the Aspden estate was of interest to me was it was well organized, there was enough work in it continue represent the artist, and there was an enthusiasm by the person who controlled the estate to actively pursue the artists reputation and career,’ said Hodges.
‘It has taken a long time for Australia to embrace abstraction. If Aspden’s estate wasn’t as strong as this we wouldn’t be able to continue that dialogue, and because of it, his reputation continues to grow.’
Other examples of well-managed estates in Australia include the high profile Wendy Whiteley and the Brett Whitely estate with the creation of the Brett Whiteley Studio, Margaret Olley’s estate, which has been largely managed by dealer Philip Bacon in Brisbane and has resulted in the studio gallery at Tweed Regional Gallery, and the Boyd trust.
We are not all artists of their stature. That, however, doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t plan.
Hodges said that the responsibilities of a dealer, or manager in charge of an artist’s estate, are no different from that when they were alive.
‘You try to put up exhibitions that represent the artist well and that will maintain their reputation; you try and flog a bit so the trustees get some remuneration from the estate, and you try to make sure the work is included in museum shows – for both the Aspden and Upward estate we have sold significant works to institutions.’
Read part two of this topic: How to manage an artist’s estate
Würtenberger concluded: ‘If an artist really wants to take care of his/her legacy, there are two things to think of: How do they want their legacy to stay alive, and what provision could they take, like putting works aside, to make that possible.’
Several artists employ the practice of keeping a good work from each series back from the market, for future museum activity or a financial safeguard. Why not keep two – one that is the foundation for your estate.
While we all can’t archive to museum standards, we can start to plan our archive en route in our careers; Photo ArtsHub
Checklist for planning an artist’s estate:
‘Many successful artists in their own lifetime don’t survive that reputation (of their day), but many artists who were modestly successful prove themselves to be important,’ said Hodges.
Rembrandt was completely unpopular when he died; he couldn’t sell a picture. ‘That is the example I give a lot of artists. If you believe in yourself, get yourself sorted, because you may be proven right.’- Hodges.
- Leave a Will. This can separate the management of the artist’s estate from other dispersement of assets. Put it in writing. Outline any key gifts to family and institutions.
- Have a conversation with, and clearly state, who will manage your estate. If you are represented by a gallery then start a conversation with them. If not, some art consultants or independent curators and arts professionals are also capable.
- Ensure your inventory is accurate. If you’re like most artists, you’ve got things all over the place. Account for as much of it as possible, including consignments and loans, storage areas and sold works.
- As each new work is finished in the studio add it into a simple database that includes all relevant details on the work – title, date, medium, dimensions – and as works are sold add the collector’s name and the sale price. Good documentation increases everyone’s understanding of your art as well as its value, both historically and marketwise.
- Keep high-resolution documentation of all artworks and for pre-digital, dust free and well-documented storage of transparencies.
- Any artist statements, working drawings, correspondence with galleries that are important to an artwork should also be kept as an archive. Even if this is a simple year-by-year archival box – print it out and throw it in.
- Destroy what is not to be kept or exhibited.
Stone speaks from experience; he has been working with the important Australian ceramicist Gwen Hansen Piggott’s estate, which is managed by her sisters. They are trying to pull together her archive but are facing the problem of not being able to trace things or find documentation.
It is a too familiar story.
Making a will
Artslaw offers very thorough and simple advice for outlining the basics. Their website offers artists a simple checklist of the things they need to consider, from assets, to your inventory, to copyright licences.
While you may not be a Picasso, Warhol or Rauschenberg in the blossoming, dying with intestacy will only create a burden.
Hodges believes it doesn’t have to be as hard as you think. ‘When Marea Gazzard was nearing the end of her life she made a plan – firstly in her Will stating who it was that should administer her estate. For her it was a conscious decision to maintain the representation she’d had all of her life.’
It is about starting that conversation, and setting up simple day-to-day systems within your studio practice and administration so that it can be a simple transfer.
