«OH, ART IS TOO HARD»

The average Canadian visual artist earns less than $14,000 per year, an 11-per-cent decrease since 1990, according to CARFAC (Canadian Artists Representation/ Les front des artistes Canadien), a national organization of visual artists. "Even $100 would make a big difference with some artists," says Ottawa artist Pat Durr, a past president of the group. To the majority of Canadian painters, sculptors, etc., the thought of saving for retirement is as surreal as a Dali masterpiece. That's why the expansion of droit de suite has finally reached Canada. CARFAC is lobbying to include artists' resale rights, or ARR, in Bill C-32, the copyright legislation now working its way through the parliamentary sausage grinder. The law would give Canadian visual artists a claim to a small percentage of the price of any of their works resold for more than $1,000 at auction or in a commercial gallery. It would apply to a late artist's heirs for up to 50 years, the legal lifespan of copyright in Canada.

-Ottawa Citizen
February 5 2011