Ritchies Auction House to Pay Artist’s Resale Right

Ritchies auction house has announced that they will voluntarily issue the Artist's Resale Right to Canadian artists, beginning with the inaugural Project Contemporalis auction this month. Ritchies will be the first major auction house in Canada begin paying resale commission to artists, a practise that is already law in the UK, Europe, Australia and many other countries around the world. The resale commission will be derived from Ritchies’ own in-house commissions and will affect neither buyer nor seller.

The statement on Ritchies' website reads: "While Parliament continues to drag its feet instituting a comparable law in Canada, Ritchies refuses to let artists continue to be exploited. Artists often live in poverty while their work fetches many times over what it was originally sold for and receive absolutely nothing for it. Canada must do more to protect its artists — granting artists resale rights is the first step on a long road." 

Ritchies calls on Canadian art resellers to institute their own resale right programs to show their respect of and tangible support for artists. 

Learn more about the Artist's Resale Right on CARFAC's website here: http://www.carfac.ca/2013/04/1047/lang-pref/en/.