Brands love to use the work of late, great artists just as much as late, great artists’ estates like to cash in. But that hasn’t stopped a slew of Succession-size squabbles
Anyone unfamiliar with the machinations of the art world could be forgiven for thinking that great art simply finds its way to the light of day. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth – particularly when it comes to the art of the dead. How we experience an artist’s work in the present is in large part down to the inheritors of their estates, who shape the way artists are understood, act as gatekeepers to their archives, preside over the authentication of works and, increasingly, are finding novel and depressing ways to cash in on the reputations of the deceased.