Up Front

Art Business News, June, 2001

Masterpiece Publishing Forms Nonprofit Foundation

LAGUNA BEACH, Calif.-- Masterpiece Publishing Inc. C.E.O. Daniel Winn recently announced the formation of the Masterpiece Foundation, a nonprofit organization being established to provide artists, galleries, publishers and the general public with information and education on the business of art. The formation of this new organization comes on the heels of the recent termination of Masterpiece's contractual agreement with artist Maher Morcos after the discovery of what company officials call severely unethical business practices.

"We have discovered an urgent need for definitive information, professional education, and consistent ethical standards in our industry following our recent experience with Maher Morcos," explained Winn. "Though most of us working in the industry today place integrity and ethical practices high on our list of business priorities, this is not always the case. Often, this is simply due to a lack of current, clear information about our industry. The Masterpiece Foundation is being formed to provide that information."

Among the programs being put in place by the Foundation are:

* educational seminars on the business of art, including programs themed around art marketing, law, best business practices and sales;

* free printed information packets on the above;

* annual awards program to honor those arts organizations deemed to be excellent examples of best business practices in the industry;

* a database of information on arts organizations, artists, publishers, etc. with an evaluation system to track business practices according to the standards set by the Masterpiece Foundation, its board, its advisors and key agenda setters in the art industry, both nationally and internationally.

The Masterpiece Foundation will be funded initially by Masterpiece Publishing. Winn and his Board of Directors will be actively seeking sponsors for the foundation and are in process of developing a separate Masterpiece Foundation Board of Directors. Winn will act as Executive Director Pro Tem in the interim. The inauguration of the Foundation is expected in July. For more information, call (949) 494-1257.

[S.sup.2] Art Group Signs Singer/Photographer Kenny Rogers

CHICAGO--Music icon Kenny Rogers has selected [S.sup.2] Art Group Ltd. as the exclusive worldwide art dealer for his limited-edition, s/n fine art photographs. A long-time amateur photographer, Rogers in recent years published two books of his images, entitled Kenny Rogers' America, featuring the skylines and vistas of America's rural and urban habitats, and Your Friends and Mine, a collection of celebrity portraits. Under the agreement, [S.sup.2] will create and distribute two series of s/n, limited-edition prints based on photographs in each of Rogers' books, plus a third series featuring portraits of America's greatest country music stars past and present which will appear in Rogers' new book, This Is My Country. [S.sup.2] also retains exclusive worldwide representation rights to any other fine art endeavors Rogers may undertake, including licensing of his art images.

Howard Behrens Wins Lawsuit Filed By Leonard DuBoff

RESTON, Va.--Well-known American palette-knife artist Howard Behrens has announced that he was victorious in a lawsuit filed by art lawyer Leonard DuBoff and his partners of the law firm DuBoff, Cushing & King, LLC of Portland, Ore. A seven-person jury in Portland recently returned a unanimous verdict finding that DuBoff had charged Behrens excessive and unreasonable fees in conjunction with litigation involving Behrens' prior publisher. The jury awarded Behrens damages against DuBoff in the amount of $368,138--not including attorneys' fees and costs that will be added at a later date. Roger Hennagin, Esq., of Lake Oswego, Ore., represented Behrens in the case.