Art code 'must ensure fair deals'

Young artists are "incredibly vulnerable", the committee was told

Artists, art dealers, galleries and auction houses should have a set of rules to ensure all deals are fair, a committee of MPs has recommended.

And public money should not be given to artists or art institutions unless they sign up, the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee said.

It also criticised the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) for not "punching its weight" in government.

The committee's report, The Market for Art, was published on Wednesday.

It predicted a "codified and transparent system of best practice" for art deals would be welcomed by everyone in the market.

It is time for government to commit itself to a flourishing arts scene Market for Art report

A code would serve as "a useful signal" of which dealers were respectable, the report said.

It added: "Compliance with the code of practice that emerges should be a prerequisite for the receipt of public funds."

Artists told the committee there should be "greater transparency" in deals with commercial galleries and a code of practice would be a "tremendous help" to those starting out.

Young artists were "incredibly vulnerable" because galleries could tell them "there are plenty more where you came from", artist Rebecca Salter said.

Arts Minister Estelle Morris told the committee a code would be "too regulatory" but there was nothing wrong with a "good practice guide".

'Bureaucratic burden'

The Society of London Art Dealers already has a checklist for deals - but said regulation would add to the existing "bureaucratic burden".

The committee also said the DCMS "seldom punches, if it punches at all, at a weight" that matched the importance of the arts in national life.

"It is time for government to commit itself to a flourishing arts scene," the report said. "And nowhere will such a commitment be more visible than in the visual arts."

A DCMS spokesperson declined to comment.