Mr. Baron,

I am no expert . . . but I'm learning.  My sense of the situation that you
describe leads me to recite the copyright query mantra: "it depends."

I do not believe that publicity for an auction falls into the Fair Use
clause, nor any other loophole.  It all depends on the agreement that the
dealer and the artist reach.

A contract (license of copyright) should be
put together that states what is allowed to be copied, for what purposes,
and for how long.  As I understand it, without such an agreement, the
owner of the Picasso could refuse to allow you to copy and publish
photographs of the painting altogether.  They own copyright to the
work, after all (or, at least, I am assuming so much).

Best wishes,

William Scott

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William Philip Scott                     |
Collections Manager and Office Assistant |
Mathers Museum of World Cultures         |
Indiana University                       |
601 East Eighth Street                   |
Bloomington, IN 47405                    |
Email: [log in to unmask]                |
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