Who Will Fight for Artists' Rights in Congress?
Hyperallergic reports that Representative Jerrold (Jerry) Nadler’s impending retirement from Congress could weaken efforts to establish resale royalties for visual artists in the United States. Nadler, who has represented New York’s 12th District since 1992 and chaired the House Judiciary Committee, has sponsored artist-rights legislation for more than 25 years, including bills since 2011 aimed at granting artists a share of secondary-market proceeds. His 2011 Equity for Visual Artists Act proposed a 7% royalty on auction sales, while the American Royalties Too Act of 2025 would provide artists or heirs 5% of resale prices, capped at $50,000, and extend coverage to dealer sales. Resale royalty systems exist in more than 100 countries, and the article cites Robert Rauschenberg’s 1973 confrontation with collector Robert Scull after a major auction as an emblematic example of artists not benefiting from rising resale values.
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This story was covered in Restitution Reckonings and Censorship Flashpoints