I learned something that I didn't realise a couple of days ago. Copyright applies to paintings in just the same way as books. So if the artist has been dead for more than 70 years both the painting and the artists's signature are out of copyright and it's perfectly legal to have a copy made, including the signature, provided it's not going to be passed off as the original.
There are several organisations listed on the web who will do this, but on a TV magazine programme was a French business man who has a team of artists, each interested in a particular artist (the one who painted Salvador Dahli even spoke and dressed like him, but he can't sell his pictures because the paintings are still in copyright). They will paint in oils any picture which is out of copyright in the same size of the original including the signature, age it and mount it in an identical frame to the one the original is framed in for about 3,500 Euros. Some owners of original paintings have copies made, store the original and have the copy on show. But if you fancy one of the oil paintings of lacemakers, this could be the way to do it. Jean in Poole - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED]
