The Artist's Estate

Andy Warhol bequeathed us the words Death can really make you look like a star. But death per se is not a catalyst for the relevance of an artist. What is of crucial importance is the proper management structure for the posthumous preservation and development of an artistic estate. The handbook by Loretta Würtenberger presents the possible legal framework, appropriate financing models, as well as the proper handling of the market, museums, and academia. Her business, Fine Art Partners, has advised artists and artists estates for many years in their structuring and development of estate concepts as well as in operative questions. Based on numerous international examples, the author explains the different alternatives for maintaining an artists estate and makes recommendations on how to ideally handle work, archives, and mementos following the death of an artist. 

Cover On Dealing with Artists’ Estates Interviews Introduction I. What Is an Artist’s Estate? II. How Should Estate Work Begin? III. In What Forms Can an Artist’s Estate Be Administered? IV. Who Should Administer an Artist’s Estate? V. How to Keep an Artist’s Work Alive? VI. Should an Artist’s Estate Live Forever?Investments, Returns, and the Future Summary Michael Baumgartner - Zentrum Paul Klee Mayen Beckmann - Max Beckmann Estate Richard Calvocoressi - Henry Moore Foundation Jerry Gorovoy - Easton Foundation / Louise Bourgeois David Nash - Gallerist of the Roy Lichtenstein and the Willem de Kooning Estate Interview with Jack Flam - Dedalus Foundation / Robert Motherwell Christy MacLear - Robert Rauschenberg Foundation Rainer Judd - Judd Foundation Barry Rosen - Eva Hesse Estate Michael Ward Stout - Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation Gisela Capitain - Martin Kippenberger Estate Hélène Vandenberghe - Estate of Philippe Vandenberg Photo credits