SECTIONS 1742-1744.9 - California Statutes

CIVIL CODE

SECTION 1742-1744.9

1742. (a) An art dealer shall not sell or consign a multiple into
or from this state unless a certificate of authenticity is furnished
to the purchaser or consignee, at his or her request, or in any event
prior to a sale or consignment, which sets forth as to each
multiple, the descriptive information required by Section 1744 for
any period. If a prospective purchaser so requests, the certificate
shall be transmitted to him or her prior to the payment or placing of
an order for a multiple. If payment is made by a purchaser prior to
delivery of such a multiple, this certificate shall be supplied at
the time of or prior to delivery. With respect to auctions, this
information may be furnished in catalogues or other written materials
which are made readily available for consultation and purchase prior
to sale, provided that a bill of sale, receipt, or invoice
describing the transaction is then provided which makes reference to
the catalogue and lot number in which this information is supplied.
Information supplied pursuant to this subdivision shall be clearly,
specifically and distinctly addressed to each of the items listed in
Section 1744 unless the required data is not applicable. This section
is applicable to transactions by and between art dealers and others
considered to be art dealers for the purposes of this title.
(b) An art dealer shall not cause a catalogue, prospectus, flyer,
or other written material or advertisement to be distributed in,
into, or from this state which solicits a direct sale, by inviting
transmittal of payment for a specific multiple, unless it clearly
sets forth, in close physical proximity to the place in such material
where the multiple is described, the descriptive information
required by Section 1744 for any time period. In lieu of this
required information, the written material or advertising may set
forth the material contained in the following quoted passage, or the
passage itself, if the art dealer then supplies the required
information prior to or with delivery of the multiple. The
nonobservance of the terms within the following passage shall
constitute a violation of this title:

"California law provides for disclosure in writing of information
concerning certain fine prints, photographs, and sculptures prior to
effecting a sale of them. This law requires disclosure of such
matters as the identity of the artist, the artist's signature, the
medium, whether the multiple is a reproduction, the time when the
multiple was produced, use of the plate which produced the multiple,
and the number of multiples in a "limited edition." If a prospective
purchaser so requests, the information shall be transmitted to him or
her prior to payment, or the placing of an order for a multiple. If
payment is made by a purchaser prior to delivery of the multiple,
this information will be supplied at the time of or prior to
delivery, in which case the purchaser is entitled to a refund if, for
reasons related to matter contained in such information, he or she
returns the multiple in the condition in which received, within 30
days of receiving it. In addition, if after payment and delivery, it
is ascertained that the information provided is incorrect, the
purchaser may be entitled to certain remedies, including refund upon
return of the multiple in the condition in which received."

This requirement is not applicable to general written material or
advertising which does not constitute an offer to effect a specific
sale.
(c) In each place of business in the state where an art dealer is
regularly engaged in sales of multiples, the art dealer shall post in
a conspicuous place, a sign which, in a legible format, contains the
information included in the following passage:

"California law provides for the disclosure in writing of certain
information concerning prints, photographs, and sculpture casts. This
information is available to you, and you may request to receive it
prior to purchase."

(d) If an art dealer offering multiples by means of a catalogue,
prospectus, flyer or other written material or advertisement
distributed in, into or from this state disclaims knowledge as to any
relevant detail referred to in Section 1744, he or she shall so
state specifically and categorically with regard to each such detail
to the end that the purchaser shall be enabled to judge the degree of
uniqueness or scarcity of each multiple contained in the edition so
offered. Describing the edition as an edition of "reproductions"
eliminates the need to furnish further informational details unless
the edition was allegedly published in a signed, numbered, or limited
edition, or any combination thereof, in which case all of the
informational details are required to be furnished.
(e) Whenever an artist sells or consigns a multiple of his or her
own creation or conception, the artist shall disclose the information
required by Section 1744, but an artist shall not otherwise be
regarded as an art dealer.

1742.6. Any charitable organization which conducts a sale or
auction of fine art multiples shall be exempt from the disclosure
requirements of this title if it posts in a conspicuous place, at the
site of the sale or auction, a disclaimer of any knowledge of the
information specified in Section 1744, and includes such a disclaimer
in a catalogue, if any, distributed by the organization with respect
to the sale or auction of fine art multiples. If a charitable
organization uses or employs an art dealer to conduct a sale or
auction of fine art multiples, the art dealer shall be subject to all
disclosure requirements otherwise required of an art dealer under
this title.

1744. (a) Except as provided in subdivisions (c), (d), (e), and
otherwise in this title, a certificate of authenticity containing the
following informational details shall be required to be supplied in
all transactions covered by subdivisions (a), (b), and (e) of Section
1742:
(1) The name of the artist.
(2) If the artist's name appears on the multiple, a statement
whether the multiple was signed by the artist.
If the multiple was not signed by the artist, a statement of the
source of the artist's name on the multiple, such as whether the
artist placed his signature on the multiple or on the master, whether
his name was stamped or estate stamped on the multiple or on the
master, or was from some other source or in some other manner placed
on the multiple or on the master.
(3) A description of the medium or process, and where pertinent to
photographic processes, the material used in producing the multiple,
such as whether the multiple was produced through the etching,
engraving, lithographic, serigraphic, or a particular method or
material used in photographic developing processes. If an established
term, in accordance with the usage of the trade, cannot be employed
accurately to describe the medium or process, a brief, clear
description shall be made.
(4) If the multiple or the image on or in the master constitutes,
as to prints and photographs, a photomechanical or photographic type
of reproduction, or as to sculptures a surmoulage or other form of
reproduction of sculpture cases, of an image produced in a different
medium, for a purpose other than the creation of the multiple being
described, a statement of this information and the respective
mediums.
(5) If paragraph (4) is applicable, and the multiple is not
signed, a statement whether the artist authorized or approved in
writing the multiple or the edition of which the multiple being
described is one.
(6) If the purported artist was deceased at the time the master
was made which produced the multiple, this shall be stated.
(7) If the multiple is a "posthumous" multiple, that is, if the
master was created during the life of the artist but the multiple was
produced after the artist's death, this shall be stated.
(8) If the multiple was made from a master which produced a prior
limited edition, or from a master which constitutes or was made from
a reproduction or surmoulage of a prior multiple or the master which
produced the prior limited edition, this shall be stated as shall the
total number of multiples, including proofs, of all other editions
produced from that master.
(9) As to multiples produced after 1949, the year, or approximate
year, the multiple was produced shall be stated. As to multiples
produced prior to 1950, state the year, approximate year or period
when the master was made which produced the multiple and when the
particular multiple being described was produced. The requirements of
this subdivision shall be satisfied when the year stated is
approximately accurate.
(10) Whether the edition is being offered as a limited edition,
and if so: (i) the authorized maximum number of signed or numbered
impressions, or both, in the edition; (ii) the authorized maximum
number of unsigned or unnumbered impressions, or both, in the
edition; (iii) the authorized maximum number of artist's, publisher's
or other proofs, if any, outside of the regular edition; and (iv)
the total size of the edition.
(11) Whether or not the master has been destroyed, effaced,
altered, defaced, or canceled after the current edition.
(b) If the multiple is part of a limited edition, and was printed
after January 1, 1983, the statement of the size of the limited
edition, as stated pursuant to paragraph (10) of subdivision (a) of
Section 1744 shall also constitute an express warranty that no
additional multiples of the same image, including proofs, have been
produced in this or in any other limited edition.
(c) If the multiple was produced in the period from 1950 to the
effective date of this section, the information required to be
supplied need not include the information required by paragraphs (5)
and (8) of subdivision (a).
(d) If the multiple was produced in the period from 1900 to 1949,
the information required to be supplied need only consist of the
information required by paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (9) of
subdivision (a).
(e) If the multiple was produced before the year 1900, the
information to be supplied need only consist of the information
required by paragraphs (1), (3), and (9) of subdivision (a).

1744.7. Whenever an art dealer furnishes the name of the artist
pursuant to Section 1744 for any time period after 1949, and
otherwise furnishes information required by any of the subdivisions
of Section 1744 for any time period, as to transactions including
offers, sales, or consignments made to other than art dealers, and to
other art dealers, such information shall be a part of the basis of
the bargain and shall create express warranties as to the information
provided. Such warranties shall not be negated or limited because
the art dealer in the written instrument did not use formal words
such as "warrant" or "guarantee" or because the art dealer did not
have a specific intention or authorization to make a warranty or
because any required statement is, or purports to be, or is capable
of being merely the seller's opinion. The existence of a basis in
fact for information warranted by virtue of this subdivision shall
not be a defense in an action to enforce such warranty. However, with
respect to photographs and sculptures produced prior to 1950, and
other multiples produced prior to 1900, as to information required by
paragraphs (3), (4), (5), and (6) of subdivision (a) of Section
1744, the art dealer shall be deemed to have satisfied this section
if a reasonable basis in fact existed for the information provided.
When information is not supplied as to any subdivision or paragraph
of Section 1744 because not applicable, this shall constitute the
express warranty that the paragraph is not applicable.
Whenever an art dealer disclaims knowledge as to a particular item
about which information is required, such disclaimer shall be
ineffective unless clearly, specifically, and categorically stated as
to the particular item and contained in the physical context of
other language setting forth the required information as to a
specific multiple.

1744.9. (a) An artist or art dealer who consigns a multiple to an
art dealer for the purpose of effecting a sale of the multiple, shall
have no liability to a purchaser under this article if the
consignor, as to the consignee, has complied with the provisions of
this title.
(b) When an art dealer has agreed to sell a multiple on behalf of
a consignor, who is not an art dealer, or an artist has not consigned
a multiple to an art dealer but the art dealer has agreed to act as
the agent for an artist for the purpose of supplying the information
required by this title, the art dealer shall incur the liabilities of
other art dealers prescribed by this title, as to a purchaser.