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.
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Terms Used In N.Y. Arts and Cultural Affairs Law 11.01

  • 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. See N.Y. Arts and Cultural Affairs Law 11.01
  • 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. See N.Y. Arts and Cultural Affairs Law 11.01
  • 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. See N.Y. Arts and Cultural Affairs Law 11.01
  • Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
  • 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. See N.Y. Arts and Cultural Affairs Law 11.01
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • 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. See N.Y. Arts and Cultural Affairs Law 11.01
  • Fine art: means a painting, sculpture, drawing, or work of graphic art, and print, but not multiples. See N.Y. Arts and Cultural Affairs Law 11.01
  • 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. See N.Y. Arts and Cultural Affairs Law 11.01
  • 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. See N.Y. Arts and Cultural Affairs Law 11.01
  • 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. See N.Y. Arts and Cultural Affairs Law 11.01
  • Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
  • Person: means an individual, partnership, corporation, association or other group, however organized. See N.Y. Arts and Cultural Affairs Law 11.01
  • 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. See N.Y. Arts and Cultural Affairs Law 11.01
  • 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. See N.Y. Arts and Cultural Affairs Law 11.01
  • 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. See N.Y. Arts and Cultural Affairs Law 11.01
  • Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
  • Uniform Commercial Code: A set of statutes enacted by the various states to provide consistency among the states' commercial laws. It includes negotiable instruments, sales, stock transfers, trust and warehouse receipts, and bills of lading. Source: OCC
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.