BAMF - British Art Market Federation

The British Art Market Federation has published a new study by Arts Economics, entitled 'The British Art Market, A Winning Global Entrepôt'. The study sets out the economic, fiscal and employment benefits created by Britain's globally competitive art market.

The British Art Market Federation (BAMF) represents all the major elements of the sector, from the larger auction houses, employing several hundred full and part-time employees, to hundreds of small and medium sized businesses. BAMF includes the following sector-specific organisations: The Association of Art & Antiques Dealers (LAPADA), which represents over 600 UK businesses with an average number employed per business of 3.2, approximately 65% of whom are full-time employees; The British Antique Dealers' Association (BADA), which has 388 members, 37% of which employ four or more staff, including the proprietor; and The Society of London Art Dealers (SLAD), which represents 125 businesses, 75% of which have no more than five full-time staff. The Federation also represents specialist organisations of dealers such as the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association (ABA) with 230 members in the UK.

The British art and antiques market is comprised altogether of 8,900 businesses, providing direct employment for 48,500. It is the second largest art and antiques market in the world with a global share of 27%, a European share of 60% and total sales of about £8.5 billion.

The British art market is particularly active in cross-border trade and in this respect is significantly the largest global competitor to the US. In 2006, works of art to the value of £2,408.5 million were imported to the UK from outside the European Union. Exports totaled £3,707.6 million. UK art imports represented 71% of all EU art imports in 2006 and 92.3% of art imports into the UK came from outside the EU .

BAMF and its members have been lobbying government to extend the derogation which currently applies to the Artists' Resale Right for dead artists from 2010 to 2012. If the government were to end the derogation it would mean that the resale right would apply to the work of dead artists 70 years after their death in the same way that it currently applies to living artists. We feel that this would be very damaging to the art market and not in practice the best way to support artists' families and their estates. If you would like to better understand the basis of our point of view please see the responses below to the recent Consultation held by the Intellectual Property Office.