The Versatile Master Artist

”Strictly speaking, I have a Master’s degree in law. I pursued a one-year LLM program, not a three to five-year JD degree.”

After finishing her university studies in Austria, Aurora stayed in the United States for a few years.

Her uncle hoped that after graduating, Aurora could manage administrative affairs at the family gallery. So, besides interning at the Gagosian Gallery, Aurora also completed a law program at New York University.

In North America, professional legal studies are usually pursued at the graduate level, offering LLM and JD degrees, with the main difference being that the latter allows one to practice as a lawyer.

”Can I ask you for some legal advice?” Anna inquired.

”If it’s about your massive fortune that I’m jealous of, in the interest of both of us, you’d be better off not asking me. But if it’s about this contract, then you’re asking the right person!”

Aurora chuckled.

”Courses like ’Maritime Law’ and ’Intellectual Property Law’ are standard in any law school.”

But New York is one of the centers of Modern Art, home to international headquarters like Gagosian and LIMU Gallery, and also where art sanctuaries like the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Vatican, and Louvre are located.

It’s a hub of the high-end art industry.

New York University is thus one of the few universities offering specialized elective legal courses on [art and antique agency, sales, and insurance].

That’s why Aurora went there for further studies.

”This contract was sent to me by a friend. She wants to know if, after signing this contract, it’s okay to freelance and contribute to publishing houses. She feels the agreement only specifies not working with other galleries and auction houses.”

”Is that really what she thinks?”

Aurora clicked her tongue: ”This silly girl is truly naive and cute.”

”What do you mean?”

Anna gently tilted her chin up.

Aurora’s daily work includes handling such matters for galleries.

Miss Ilina trusts in the professional judgment of the other party.

”Managing a gallery is exactly like keeping cattle. Our family’s Simmental cows, from calf to adulthood, provide manure to organic fertilizer plants, milk for fresh milk or cheese, and when they’re older, they serve as dual-purpose beef cows for the meat market, their hides are processed into furniture, and even their bones are used for bone meal to make money.”

Aurora gave a sinister smile characteristic of a capitalist: ”Why would you clandestinely let it produce milk for others?”

Anna was unprepared for such feedback.

She hadn’t studied law and was just worried about Detective Cat’s future inability to enter the auction house.

Now, according to Aurora, the seemingly ordinary contract holds traps.

This answer was unexpected, yet understandable.

If the intricacies of a business contract were so easily understood, why study law at all?

The Ilyena family’s long-term advisory contracts with law firms are fifteen thousand euros annually, only handling simple formulaic matters, with professional legal consultations billed additionally by the minute.

The legal team commands such high rates.

Tripping someone unknowingly in a pitfall? That’s all too simple.

”No way?” Anna asked curiously.

”It’s very risky, depending on whether the gallery wants to take a bite out of you.”

Aurora hummed twice: ”For example, look, the gallery stipulates that during the contract period, it naturally owns the full rights to the works created by its artists using the gallery’s art resources.”

”This clause seems normal, but what does ’using the gallery’s art resources’ mean?”

”Sorry, Anna, it’s not just artworks made using the gallery’s paper and pens that are considered using the gallery’s art resources. For example, if we host an academic seminar for the artists we represent and he gains new skills or inspiration from it, wouldn’t that count as using the gallery’s art resources?”

Aurora casually gave an example: ”Determining whether company resources have been used can be complicated, sometimes leading to lawsuits. In the early days of Silicon Valley, many programmers who secretly used company-issued computers to work on personal projects at night suffered under similar clauses. Art is even more complicated.”

”...And then there’s this clause, stating the commercial rights and adaptation rights of the works created by the artist during the contract period belong to the gallery. If they create illustrations, this could easily lead to disputes with publishers. Also, these other clauses, like not creating works that violate the gallery’s social image, balabala...”

Aurora nonchalantly highlighted concerning clauses in the contract. There were many at hand.

”When prominent artists sign contracts, they all hire someone to draft them. They never use the template contracts prepared by the gallery without reason.”

”I see.”

Anna nodded.

It was indeed a very wise decision for her to inquire with a professional on behalf of Detective Cat.

Otherwise, even Anna herself wouldn’t have realized the potential risks in these clauses.

”In short, gallery owners watch their artists very closely. Although there’s no precedent of the industry suing for serious artists secretly creating illustrations for publishing houses, it’s only because this situation is quite rare and doesn’t generate much money. Galleries don’t want to appear greedy over at most thousands of US dollars.”

”If a KAWS comes along, just try and see if they’ll sue you.”

”Based on these clauses, winning is uncertain, but extracting a few pounds of flesh, or forcing an out-of-court settlement, isn’t difficult.”

”Truly heartless.”