Publication: Art and Modern Copyright: The Contested Image

[Michael Pritchard]

Cambridge University Press has just published Art and Modern Copyright: The Contested Image by Dr Elena Cooper. The book is the first in-depth study of the history of copyright protecting the visual arts, especially photography.

Exploring legal developments during an important period in the making of the modern law, the mid-nineteenth to early twentieth centuries, in relation to four themes – the protection of copyright ‘authors’ (painters, photographers and engravers), art collectors, sitters and the public interest. It uncovers a number of long-forgotten narratives of copyright history, including views of copyright that differ from how we think about copyright today. As well as considering the distinct nature of the contribution of copyright to the history of the cultural domain accounted for by scholars of art history and the sociology of art, Art and Modern Copyright examines the value to lawyers and policy-makers today of copyright history as a destabilising influence. In taking us to ways of thinking that differ from our own, history can sharpen the critical lens through which we view copyright debates today.

The book will be launched at an event at the Victorian Picture Galleryat Royal Holloway, University of London, at 6.15pm on Wednesday 5 December 2018, where Dr Cooper will draw on the rich collection of nineteenth century paintings in the Gallery to illustrate the central themes of her research.

If you are interested in attending, please contact Dr Cooper: [e-mail] . Members are warmly invited to the launch and are entitled to a 20% discount on the purchase of a copy of the book (available for a limited time only). 

If you are interested in attending contact Dr Cooper: [e-mail] .

A full review will be published shortly.