What needs to happen after an artist dies
and some of the practical actions an Executor needs to take.

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What happens to Artists' Estates?
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What's it really like for those dealing with an artist's or art collector's legacy of artwork after their death?

Below are some stories about what happened to artists' estates.

• MAKING A MARK: What it's like for an Artist's Trustee
  Last week I came across a blog which tracks the experience of one Trustee as he gets to grips with the Estate and what needs to happen next.
• An Artist's Estate
  In July 2008 the artist Dave Pearson died leaving an enormous amount of artwork. This blog follows the journey taken by one of the executors of his will - a steep learning curve to perpetuate the reputation of an inspirational artist and man.
  
• Robert Genn - Painters Keys Clickbacks - Death of an artist
  Jamillah's situation is similar to many artists' beneficiaries when the main thrust of the life's work was in academia. Their credentials may be great, but their prior interaction with the commercial gallery system may be limited.
  
• Art sales: how artist's estates add value - Telegraph
  Artists' estates can be tricky but they can bring big business too says Colin Gleadell.

• Funny How A Little Public Pressure Makes Artist's Estate Back Down | Techdirt
  Last week, we wrote about the rather bizarre case of the estate of artist Roy Lichtenstein threatening a band for using an image for their album cover that was "appropriated" from the same original comic that Lichtenstein himself appropriated for one
• Neil Gaiman's Journal: Important. And pass it on...
  A post about the need for writers to have a will covering the disposition of their literary estates. The principles are the same. It provides a link to a pdf suggesting the sort of wording which is required
  
• Embalmed body of tramp belongs to artist's estate - Times Online
  THE body of a tramp embalmed by an eccentric artist and kept in a secret drawer in his studio is the property of his estate, a coroner ruled yesterday.
  

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What to do with artists' papers and ephemera?

Artwork isn't the only thing an Executor needs to think about when disposing of the Estate of an Artist

• Artists' Papers Register - homepage
  Artists' Papers Register: A location register of the papers of artists, designers and craftspeople held in publicly accessible collections in the United Kingdom and IrelandThe Artists' Papers Register represents a more current, detailed and extensive
• Artbusiness.com - Artist Letters, Photographs, Documents, Personal Papers
  Q: My great grandmother was friends and corresponded with a well-known American artist for several years in the late 1800's, and I have a number of letters and two photographs of the artist saved from the relationship. Are these worth anything?

What to do about an artists digital assets?
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Paper ephemera are not the only type of accounts and files which an Executor needs to deal with. It's now also vital to locate and access digital accounts and digital folders and files - particularly if these include high resolution digital files of an artist's artwork

 An Executor will need to know:

• where these are located and
• how an account or archive can be accessed 
• a number of sites (eg Facebook) now provide for you to detail a person who can manage your site in the event of your death.

Reference:

• What happens to your digital assets after you die? | Janet Brewer - JDSupra
  In this day and age, however, there is a new category of assets to consider: digital assets. Internet users should be considering what will happen to their digital assets, including social media accounts, email accounts, online document storage, and

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BACK TO The Art Legacy

• Estate Planning for Artists
  
• Famous Artists Estates
• Artwork Inventory
• Copyright and Resale Rights for Heirs
• Art and Inheritance Tax
• Estate Planning for Art Collectors