Has your art ever been stolen in any way?

[Mississippi Hippie]

I might have had a drawing of mine physically stolen before. Unless I just misplaced it but really it scared me never to recover it. I had to sign a form one time because ppl were filming something in front of it and I almost had to let them steal my art!
Any other bad news stories? Copyright infringement or something?

 

[bethany]

When we sold our house many years ago I sent a thank you card to the agent with an ink drawing of the house on the front.
We moved into the new house in the next town and got an advertising flyer from the agent in our mail box- with my ink drawing on the front!
I explained to them that this was not their drawing to reprint onto advertising material- that I owned the copyright. They argued, but agreed to stop using my artwork. Maybe I could have offered to do drawings for a fee- but I was annoyed.

 

[Mississippi Hippie]

When we sold our house many years ago I sent a thank you card to the agent with an ink drawing of the house on the front.
We moved into the new house in the next town and got an advertising flyer from the agent in our mail box- with my ink drawing on the front!
I explained to them that this was not their drawing to reprint onto advertising material- that I owned the copyright. They argued, but agreed to stop using my artwork. Maybe I could have offered to do drawings for a fee- but I was annoyed.

I wouldn’t have worked for him after that either.

 

[Mississippi Hippie]

This is the form I digitally signed that basically let TV steal my artwork.

I sold at the venue, however the network didn’t give me a dime.

 

[rcleary171]

I went through a brief poetry period. One of my favorite poems, which I had shared on a related forum thread, had been published on Reddit (without my permission, a title or my name). I knew this had happened because this individual shared the link. I don't know if he/she thought they were doing me a favor or were just being malicious. Either way it was an educational experience.

 

[Artyczar]

I have quite a number of stories where my work has been stolen, as well as copyright infringement. Which one to tell??? Where do I start? I do not know! The first one was by a gallery. Ten years later, the gallery owner looked me up and brought it back to me (damaged, of course).

The second one was also a gallery. Never got that one back.

The third was a coffee house.

Then a few people who never paid.

I had a band file a copyright on my painting for their album cover (out of spite, really), when they had no right to do this. It was my original painting, created previously (not a work-for-hire) and it was used as the cover, like a license. I never allowed them any part of a copyright, but they filed one on it anyway.

I've had a couple artists paint/copy my original paintings and put them up for sale on their websites, then ask me if that was okay. Ha ha ha. One never asked. I contacted them and they just took them down for sale but kept them up for show and accredited that they were "after" me. After a couple years, their site no longer existed at all. Maybe she stopped painting, I don't know. She was a beginner, and it was flattering, but it still wasn't too cool.

I've had Artist's book stolen either out of a gallery or misplaced by another gallery. No one knows for sure, but it was not paid for. I was not compensated for it. Same gallery sold a different artist's book to a museum and never collected from the doner because of some misunderstanding with him. Who ate it? Me.

I've had work totally destroyed by two different galleries, one in Miami, and one in Nashville. The Nashville gallery destroyed two and one was fixable. The other was totaled. The Maimi one destroyed the other by shipping it back in a flimsy box. It had glass on it. The glass broke and cut through the paper and linen backing.

Those are the ones I can think of for now.

 

[Marc]

I had my portfolio stolen the day before being submitted for University entrance. I don't feel like further relating the effects of that.

However the first painting I had pinched was back in school when I was only 8 or 9. It was the last period of the day. We were doing watercolours, and I was truly amazed at what I was doing on this landscape. It looked like a real proper painting, like one of those in the city museum. Every brushstroke fell like magic in the proper place like it had always been there and described the forms perfectly. All the students painting had to be put on a high shelf to dry. The bell rang everyone went home.
Next day first class I went to pick up my picture. it was gone. No one knew what had happened to it. Who knows who got it, but thus began a long history of disappearing art work.

 

[JennieJo]

I sold a painting, and the conversation between the buyers shocked me. "I'm going to make prints of this and sell them. It's great!"

Me: you can't do that
Him: yeah! I can. I just bought it.
Me: you bought that. I own the copyright. You can't can't sell copies of a book you bought. You can sell copies you make of my art.
Him: really?
Me: yep. You need me to let you do that.

They shrugged, and walked away.

 

[Artyczar]

Jennie Jo, what an ass that person was!

 

[JennieJo]

Jennie Jo, what an ass that person was!

To make it worse, I knew him. I live in a small town.

 

[classic]

Something similar, not exactly an art piece:

Long ago, in a summer holiday's camp I did participate in a volunteers' group contributing in the renovation of an old historical school building in a village. Our work was to make architectural drawings of the building. Because of my specialty as professional engineer I was the head of our group. However I learned that the camp organizers were professional architects making money from our work. I had in mind to participate in a fully volunteer's effort, not in a group working for free for the profit of just some other professionals. So, I didn't come back next years.

 

[Enyaw]

I had one guy pick my garbage and take my throw aways. Once I saw what was happening anything that went to the garbage was destroyed.