Subjects:

Intellectual Property Law, Art Law

Contents:

Contents

Introduction

1. Formidable Antecedents

B. H. Friedman on Lee Krasner and Annalee Newman

2. The Widow Is the Memory

Anne E. Porter, Widow of Fairfield Porter

Yvonne Hagen, Widow of N. H. (Tony) Stubbing

Harriet Vicente, Widow of Esteban Vicente

Phyllis Diebenkorn, Widow of Richard Diebenkorn

3. The Uncertain Divide: Artist/Wife/Widow

Adelie Landis Bischoff, Widow of Elmer Bischoff

Charlotte Park, Widow of James Brooks

Regina Cherry, Widow of Herman Cherry

May Stevens, Widow of Rudolf Baranik

4. Unfinished Dialogues: The Artist and the Gallery

Jeanne Bultman, Widow of Fritz Bultman

Stephen L. Schlesinger on the Fritz Bultman Estate

Anne Arnold, Widow of Ernest Briggs, and Bob Brooks

Anita Shapolsky on Her Foundation and Gallery

Jeffrey Bergen on the Romare Bearden Estate

5. The Next Generation

March Avery, Daughter of Milton and Sally Avery

Christopher Schwabacher, Son of Ethel Schwabacher

Helen McNeil, Daughter of George McNeil

6. Foundation Samplings: SoHo and Southampton

Sanford Hirsch on the Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation

Michael Solomon on the Ossorio Foundation

7. Untimely Deaths

Peter Stevens on the David Smith Estate

Helen Park Bigelow, Daughter of David Park

Peggy Gillespie, Widow of Gregory Gillespie

8. A Certain Distance

Rae Ferren, Widow of John Ferren

John Crawford, Son of Ralston Crawford

Robert Jamieson, Companion of Leon Polk Smith

Joan Marter on the Dorothy Dehner Foundation

9. To the Future

Kate and Christopher Rothko, Daughter and Son of Mark Rothko

Stephen Polcari on the Archives of American Art

Ralph Lerner on Art Law

Jack Cowart on the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation

Notes

Index

Artists' Estates offers a fascinating journey into the complex and competitive art world through the distinctive lens of those who deal with the paintings, prints, and sculpture that artists leave behind after their deaths. Bringing together interviews conducted by Magda Salvesen, the widow of the second-generation Abstract Expressionist painter Jon Schueler, this unique book provides a window into the goals and desires, the conflicts and frustrations, and the emotional and financial strains that confront widows, companions, sons, and daughters as the heirs to artists' estates.

The judiciously arranged and edited interviews also address the benefits and liabilities of foundations and trusts through the insights of lawyers, gallery dealers, and foundation directors. Readers will explore well-known estates, including those of Roy Lichtenstein, Mark Rothko, Adolph Gottlieb, Milton Avery, Romare Bearden, David Smith, Richard Diebenkom, and Fairfield Porter, as well as discover the intriguing legacies of lesser-known artists.

These examples are prefaced by Salvesen's provocative account of her own experience doing "widow's work." Together, the passionate testimonies of families and lovers, the measured voices of art professionals, and the more than eighty photographs offer a vivid and captivating portrait of the relationship between artists and their heirs, the roles of market forces and tax codes, and the place of critical writing and exhibitions in shaping an artist's reputation.

The vibrant tapestry of voices also captures the distinctive flavor of the generation of artists whose work came to the fore in the fifties and sixties. An impressive and irresistible collection, Artists' Estates is an indispensable entree into the private and public art world in America.