Thursday, November 1st, 2012 – Inuit artists will miss out on profits made on their work at Joyner Waddington’s and Walkers auction houses in the next few days – from which the artists will not receive a dime. The Canadian and Quebec associations of visual artists (CARFAC & RAAV) have requested that government address this discrepancy by bringing the Artist’s Resale Right to Canada.
The Artist’s Resale Right allows visual artists to share in the profits being made from their work on future sales. It is common for art to be resold at higher prices, as the reputation of the artist grows. For example, a piece by the late Joe Talirunili sold in 2006 for $278,500. A similar piece is expected to sell for between $100,000 and $150,000 at Waddingtons on Sunday. It is estimated that both piece would have been purchased directly from the artist at for about $400-600 when they were originally sold in the 1970’s.
In addition, eight pieces by one of Nunavut’s most famous artists, Kenojuak Ashevak, are being offered for sale at the Waddington’s November auction of Inuit art. “Enchanted Owl”, one of her most well known images, is estimated to sell for between $25,000 and $30,000. In November 2011, two of her prints were sold at auction for a total of $29,620. If Canada had an Artist’s Resale Right of 5%, she would have received $1,481 from that sale. Continue reading
Cultural Pluralism in the Arts Movement Ontario (CPAMO) 
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