Law and Art Brut – The Legal Status of Institutionalized Artists and the Legal Framework Governing Their Works

Since 1945, when Jean Dubuffet coined the term, Art brut has become a permanent fixture in the contemporary art scene. Museums, major public institutions, private collectors, and gallery owners have made significant acquisitions in this sector, effectively confirming the existence of a specific market and the speculation that accompanies it. While the art market regularly raises questions—and even outrage—regarding the distribution of value, these issues take on even greater significance when it comes to Art brut.

How can we resolve the conflict between the specific legal rights of museums—defined as the inalienability of public collections—and the rights of the families and descendants of these imprisoned artists? These are all questions that, from a legal standpoint, concern artists, their families, public institutions, and the public itself—which is sometimes confronted, even within this artistic context, with art fraud.