The Art of Giving

Artists are constantly asked to donate their work for a worthy cause. In turn, the art would be auctioned off, or sold for a certain amount of money. All the proceeds would go to the worthy cause. Supposedly, the artist would receive recognition, and the organization would receive the money. The effort, creative spirit, and passion–these ingredients that go into the creative soul and make an artist and artist–are not compensated. In other words, the artist receives no money at all. On the contrary, the artist is actually out the cost of the materials, which can be considerable in some instances.

I would like to examine this concept a bit further. In the USA, if a painter donates a work to an organization, on his/her income taxes, that painter can deduct the cost of the materials–the canvas, paints, frame, and so forth. On the other hand, if an art patron (one who collects art) donates a piece of art to a charity, and that charity auctions this piece off, the patron can deduct the actual value of the painting on his/her income taxes. For example, if Pablo Picasso, the famous Spanish artist, donates a painting that has a value of $2 million US, he could just deduct the cost of his materials on his income tax, and not receive any money for the transaction. On the other hand, the American developer Donald Trump, who owns a painting by Pablo Picasso that is valued at $2 million US, could donate that painting for a worthy cause, and deduct the $2 million US on his income tax. This is not fair. The artist receives only a tiny fraction of deduction on his taxes for the time, creative talent, and energy that goes into making a product. The donor of a piece of art receives full credit on his/her income taxes, which can amount to a very healthy return. The charity receives the money anyway. I have another idea.

Suppose there was an art auction for a worthy cause, such as raising funds to pay for a water purification plant in a small African village. Artists were asked to donate one piece of art that would be auctioned off to raise funds for this project. The artist would receive recognition in the form of a link to the artist’s art gallery where one could see other works and potentially purchase more art. In addition. In addition, the artist would stipulate that 75% of the final auction price be donated to the project. The other amount, 25%, would be given back to the artist. This would help defray material costs, and allow the artist to receive an income from the sale.

If the artists were to receive a percentage of the sale, there would be more cooperation between a charity and the artist. It would be a win-win situation.