In Greece, the art market is relatively new compared to other major European countries or the US. This explains the flexibility but also the vagueness and weakness of certain laws and taxes affecting the Greek art world. The small size of the market, the rarity of Greek artists of international stature—regardless of the quality of their work—the absence of a substantial number of Greek contemporary art museums with a steady annual acquisitions budget, the inability of Greece to promote its younger artists abroad and the rising number of small private collectors, minor galleries and minor local auction sales have led to low prices and much unofficial art trading, with very uneven prices for works of art, even by the same artist.
Other consequences of under-the-counter art trading are the appearance of fake works of art, and artists not knowing where their works are. It does not come as a surprise then that although the law containing the application of droit de suite has, in theory, been valid since 1993, in effect the artists’ resale charge is applied only by one major auction house. Galleries and art dealers do not reveal their private sales to the artists or the Greek artists’ royalty collecting society, and when they do, they rarely pay the droit de suite charge. A court case seems to be the only way for an artist or the artist’s successors to claim the charge, provided, of course, the resale can be proved, and especially provided the artist wants to resort to such means, which is unlikely, for fear of alienating the dealers.
An amendment to this law in accordance with the EU’s directive is expected as this goes to press, and, although the state is currently reinforcing the artists’ royalty collecting society, the general feeling is that it will not so much affect the art market as help eliminate the trading in fakes and enable artists to keep track of their own works.
But while the art trade hopes for the highest possible minimum threshold and the lowest possible droit de suite percentage (4%), the artists have asked for the lowest possible minimum—even none at all—as the market is depressed and they are afraid that galleries and dealers will declare or pursue borderline minima so as to avoid paying the current droit de suite percentage (5%).
Originally appeared in The Art Newspaper as "Greece"