Los Angeles, CA - Famous New York artist Chuck Close, the estate of sculptor Robert Graham, and other artists have launched legal action against several top auction houses, alleging they violated a California law requiring royalty payments for the sale of their artwork. California-based art collectors of ArtKabinett social network will be closely watching the outcome of these proceedings. Federal lawsuits filed against Sotheby's, Christie's and eBay on Tuesday are seeking class-action status, in an effort to open up the action to other artists as well, which could total hundreds of thousands of dollars given current art prices. The lawsuits allege that the auctioneers have violated the California Resale Royalty Act, a 1977 law enacted to give visual artists a financial cut from the sale of artworks they had created but no longer own. They are seeking unspecified damages. A foundation of late California painter Sam Francis (pictured above left) also is named as a plaintiff in the suits against Christie's and eBay Inc. Samuel Lewis Francis (June 25, 1923, San Mateo, California – November 4, 1994, Santa Monica, California) was an American painter and printmaker. The Los Angeles Daily Journal first reported some of the suits. According to the statute, artists of "one-of-a-kind" pieces of fine art (defined as "an original painting, sculpture, or drawing, or an original work of art in glass") are due five per cent of the proceeds from the sale of their creations, given several conditions, such as if the seller resides in California or the exchange itself occurs in the state. The law extends to cover the heirs of an artist, up to 20 years after the original artist's death. The suits accuse the auction houses of participating in a "pattern of conduct" that was intended to conceal if a sale or a seller was in California. Lawyer Eric M. George, who filed the complaints in federal court, told the Los Angeles Times that the failure to pay the royalties is a denial of artists' rights. "How they've gotten away with it for this long is a mystery," he told the Times. Compliance with the law among important art dealers is "spotty at best," he added. Though eBay didn't release a comment, a Sotheby's statement blasted the legal action. "We believe the claim is meritless and it will be vigorously defended," Sotheby's said. A representative for Christie's described the California Resale Royalties Act "as subject to serious legal challenges" in a statement, adding that "Christie's looks forward to addressing these issues in court."
