Committee Code
of Fair Practice
VARA - The Visual Artists Rights Act
The Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 was enacted as an amendment to the copyright laws, which are designed to protect an artist's property. (Copyright is a property right.) VARA addresses the issues of an artist's "moral rights" in his or her work. Right now, the moral rights are limited to the right of attribution and the right of integrity.VARA defines a work of art as a painting, drawing, sculpture, or print, unique or limited to editions of 200 or less. It gives the artist the right to claim authorship, (and deuny authorship when applicable), and prevent the mutilation or destruction of his or her work during his or her lifetime. (The destruction or mutilation must be intentional, like Picasso's iTrois Femmes, which was bought and cut up into little 1-inch squares which were sold individually as original Picassos by some heinous entrepreneur. The natural deterioration that comes with age does not count.)
This act could have some bearing in the field of dinosaur art because of the size and scale of some of the artwork. VARA addresses the right of a sculptor, for example, to not have his or her sculpture destroyed or altered by its removal from a building, or the right of a muralist to not have another artist paint over his or her wrok, ostensibly to "update" it.
Although I know of no examples at present, there are some reasons in this field; such as new scientific research completing our understanding of dinosaurs and their environment, new acquisitions needing display room, or just the desire to be more paleo-fashionable, that might cause an institution or collector to wish to take down, and in the process, mutilate a work of art. But we would be so much poorer without these works as historical landmarks that I am glad this law has come into being and I hope it gains strength.