Minnesota Session Laws - 1983, Regular Session

  

                         Laws of Minnesota 1983 

                        CHAPTER 165--H.F.No. 584
           An act relating to commerce; regulating the 
          consignment of works of art; specifying the rights and 
          duties of consignors and consignees; defining terms; 
          proposing new law coded as Minnesota Statutes, chapter 
          324. 
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
    Section 1.  [324.01] [DEFINITIONS.] 
    Subdivision 1.  [SCOPE.] For the purposes of sections 1 to 
5, the following terms have the meanings given them.  
    Subd. 2.  [ARTIST.] "Artist" means the creator of a work of 
art or, if he or she is deceased, that person's heirs or 
personal representatives.  
    Subd. 3.  [ART.] "Art" means a painting, sculpture, 
drawing, work of graphic art, photograph, weaving, or work of 
craft art.  
    Subd. 4.  [ART DEALER.] "Art dealer" means a person engaged 
in the business of selling works of art, other than a person 
exclusively engaged in the business of selling goods at public 
auction.  
    Subd. 5.  [PERSON.] "Person" means an individual, 
partnership, corporation, association, or other group, however 
organized.  
    Subd. 6.  [CONSIGNMENT.] "Consignment" means the delivery 
of possession of an art work by an artist to an art dealer by 
which no title to, estate in, or right to possession of, art, 
superior to that of the artist vests in the art dealer, 
notwithstanding the art dealer's power or authority to transfer 
and convey to a third person all of the right, title, and 
interest of the artist in and to that work of art.  
    Sec. 2.  [324.02] [DELIVERY TO AND ACCEPTANCE BY ART 
DEALER.] 
    Notwithstanding any custom, practice, or usage of the trade 
to the contrary, if an artist delivers or causes to be delivered 
a work of art of the artist's own creation to an art dealer in 
this state for the purpose of exhibition or sale, or both, on a 
commission, fee, or other basis of compensation, the delivery to 
and acceptance of the work of art by the art dealer constitutes 
a consignment, unless the delivery to the art dealer is pursuant 
to an outright sale for which the artist receives or has 
received full compensation for the work of fine art upon 
delivery.  
    Sec. 3.  [324.03] [RESULTS OF CONSIGNMENT; ARTIST-ART 
DEALER RELATIONSHIPS.] 
    A consignment of a work of fine art results in all of the 
following:  
    (1) the art dealer, after delivery of the work of art, is 
an agent of the artist for the purpose of sale or exhibition of 
the consigned work of art within the state of Minnesota;  
    (2) the work of art is property held in trust by the 
consignee for the benefit of the consignor and is not subject to 
claim by a creditor of the consignee;  
    (3) the consignee is responsible for the loss of, or damage 
to, the work of art; and 
    (4) the proceeds from the sale of the work of art must be 
held in trust by the consignee for the benefit of the 
consignor.  The proceeds must first be applied to pay any 
balance due to the consignor, unless the consignor expressly 
agrees otherwise in writing.  
    Sec. 4.  [324.04] [TRUST PROPERTY.] 
    A work of art received as a consignment remains trust 
property until the consignor has been paid in full, 
notwithstanding the subsequent purchase of it by the consignee 
directly or indirectly for the consignee's own account.  If the 
work is thereafter resold to a bona fide purchaser before the 
consignor has been paid in full, the proceeds of the resale 
received by the consignee constitute funds held in trust for the 
benefit of the consignor to the extent necessary to pay any 
balance still due to the consignor.  The trusteeship continues 
until the fiduciary obligation of the consignee with respect to 
this transaction is discharged in full.  
    Sec. 5.  [324.05] [APPLICATION.] 
    Sections 1 to 5 do not apply to a written contract executed 
prior to August 1, 1983, unless either the parties agree by 
mutual consent that sections 1 to 5 apply, or the contract is 
extended or renewed after August 1, 1983.  
    The provisions of sections 1 to 5 prevail over any 
conflicting or inconsistent provisions of chapter 336 affecting 
the subject matter of these sections. 
    Approved May 18, 1983