N.Y. Arts and Cultural Affairs Law § 11.01: Definitions

§ 11.01. Definitions. As used in this title:

1. "Artist" means the creator of a work of fine art or, in the case of

multiples, the person who conceived or created the image which is

contained in or which constitutes the master from which the individual

print was made.

2. "Art merchant" means a person who is in the business of dealing,

exclusively or non-exclusively, in works of fine art or multiples, or a

person who by his occupation holds himself out as having knowledge or

skill peculiar to such works, or to whom such knowledge or skill may be

attributed by his employment of an agent or other intermediary who by

his occupation holds himself out as having such knowledge or skill. The

term "art merchant" includes an auctioneer who sells such works at

public auction, and except in the case of multiples, includes persons,

not otherwise defined or treated as art merchants herein, who are

consignors or principals of auctioneers.

3. "Author" or "authorship" refers to the creator of a work of fine

art or multiple or to the period, culture, source or origin, as the case

may be, with which the creation of such work is identified in the

description of the work.

4. "Creditors" means "creditor" as defined in paragraph thirteen of

subsection (b) of section 1--201 of the uniform commercial code.

5. "Counterfeit" means a work of fine art or multiple made, altered or

copied, with or without intent to deceive, in such manner that it

appears or is claimed to have an authorship which it does not in fact

possess.

6. "Certificate of authenticity" means a written statement by an art

merchant confirming, approving or attesting to the authorship of a work

of fine art or multiple, which is capable of being used to the advantage

or disadvantage of some person.

7. "Conservation" means acts taken to correct deterioration and

alteration and acts taken to prevent, stop or retard deterioration.

8. "Craft" means a functional or non-functional work individually

designed, and crafted by hand, in any medium including but not limited

to textile, tile, paper, clay, glass, fiber, wood, metal or plastic;

provided, however, that if produced in multiples, craft shall not

include works mass produced or produced in other than a limited edition.

9. "Fine art" means a painting, sculpture, drawing, or work of graphic

art, and print, but not multiples.

10. "Limited edition" means works of art produced from a master, all

of which are the same image and bear numbers or other markings to denote

the limited production thereof to a stated maximum number of multiples,

or are otherwise held out as limited to a maximum number of multiples.

11. "Master" when used alone is used in lieu of and means the same as

such things as printing plate, stone, block, screen, photographic

negative or other like material which contains an image used to produce

visual art objects in multiples, or in the case of sculptures, a mold,

model, cast, form or other prototype, other than from glass, which

additional multiples of sculpture are produced, fabricated or carved.

12. "On consignment" means that no title to, estate in, or right to

possession of, the work of fine art or multiple that is superior to that

of the consignor vests in the consignee, notwithstanding the consignee's

power or authority to transfer or convey all the right, title and

interest of the consignor, in and to such work, to a third person.

13. "Person" means an individual, partnership, corporation,

association or other group, however organized.

14. "Print" in addition to meaning a multiple produced by, but not

limited to, such processes as engraving, etching, woodcutting,

lithography and serigraphy, also means multiples produced or developed

from photographic negatives, or any combination thereof.

15. "Proofs" means multiples which are the same as, and which are

produced from the same masters as, the multiples in a limited edition,

but which, whether so designated or not, are set aside from and are in

addition to the limited edition to which they relate.

16. "Reproduction" means a copy, in any medium, of a work of fine art,

that is displayed or published under circumstances that, reasonably

construed, evinces an intent that it be taken as a representation of a

work of fine art as created by the artist.

17. "Reproduction right" means a right to reproduce, prepare

derivative works of, distribute copies of, publicly perform or publicly

display a work of fine art.

18. "Sculpture" means a three-dimensional fine art object produced,

fabricated or carved in multiple from a mold, model, cast, form or other

prototype, other than from glass, sold, offered for sale or consigned

in, into or from this state for an amount in excess of fifteen hundred

dollars.

19. "Signed" means autographed by the artist's own hand, and not by

mechanical means of reproduction, after the multiple was produced,

whether or not the master was signed or unsigned.

20. "Successor in interest" shall mean a "personal representative",

"testamentary beneficiary", trustee or beneficiary of a "lifetime trust"

or an "heir" (including heirs who acquire the work of fine art, craft or

print from the artist or craftsperson or from another heir or

beneficiary of the artist or craftsperson), which terms shall have the

same meanings as set forth in the estates, powers and trusts law.

21. "Visual art multiples" or "multiples" means prints, photographs,

positive or negative, sculpture and similar art objects produced in more

than one copy and sold, offered for sale or consigned in, into or from

this state for an amount in excess of one hundred dollars exclusive of

any frame or in the case of sculpture, an amount in excess of fifteen

hundred dollars. Pages or sheets taken from books and magazines and

offered for sale or sold as visual art objects shall be included, but

books and magazines are excluded.

22. "Written instrument" means a written or printed agreement, bill of

sale, invoice, certificate of authenticity, catalogue or any other

written or printed note or memorandum or label describing the work of

fine art or multiple which is to be sold, exchanged or consigned by an

art merchant.