Rights Mis-Management

Happy Little PawnshopsBy Mark Kaufman

Odd and disturbing story in the NYT yesterday about an outfit called Art Capital Group which according to the article is basically a pawn shop for wealthy patrons to pawn off their art collections. Nothing so disturbing there, it is actually a clever twist on the hoi polloi pawning off a wedding ring or a set of tools, the disturbing thing is that apparently Annie Leibovitz, one of the most successful photographers of all time, has pawned off the rights to her work “existing or in the future”. That is a new twist in the never ending battle over artists’ rights. I am not sure what to make of it.