Art Transactions

C.R.S. tit. 6, art. 15
in effect

C.R.S. § 6-15-101 Definitions

6-15-101. Definitions. As used in this part 1, unless the context otherwise requires: (1) "Art dealer" means a person engaged in the business of selling works of fine art, other than a person exclusively engaged in the business of selling goods at public auction. (2) "Artist" means the creator of a work of fine art. (3) "On consignment" means that no title to or estate in the goods or right to possession thereof superior to that of the consignor vests in the consignee, notwithstanding the consignee's power or authority to transfer and convey all of the right, title, and interest of the consignor, in and to such goods to a third person. (4) "Work of fine art" or "work" means: (a) A work of visual art such as a painting, sculpture, drawing, mosaic, or photograph; (b) A work of calligraphy; (c) A work of graphic art such as an etching, a lithograph, an offset print, a silk screen, or any other work of similar nature; (d) A craft work in materials, including but not limited to clay, textile, fiber, wood, metal, plastic, or glass; (e) A work in mixed media such as collage or any combination of the art media set forth in this subsection (4).

C.R.S. § 6-15-102 Art dealers and artists - consignment of works of fine art

6-15-102. Art dealers and artists - consignment of works of fine art. (1) Notwithstanding any custom, practice, or usage of the trade and any of the provisions of section 4-2-326, C.R.S., to the contrary, whenever an artist delivers or causes to be delivered a work of fine art of his own creation to an art dealer for the purpose of exhibition or sale on a commission, fee, or other basis of compensation, the delivery to and acceptance thereof by the art dealer is deemed to place the work on consignment and: (a) Such art dealer shall thereafter, with respect to the work, be deemed to be the agent of such artist; (b) Such work is trust property in the hands of the consignee for the benefit of the consignor; and (c) Any proceeds from the sale of the work are trust funds in the hands of the consignee for the benefit of the consignor. (2) Notwithstanding the subsequent purchase of a work of fine art by the consignee directly or indirectly for his own account, the work initially received on consignment shall be deemed to remain trust property until the price is paid in full to the consignor. If such work is thereafter resold to a bona fide third party before the consignor has been paid in full, the proceeds of the resale are trust funds in the hands of the consignee for the benefit of the consignor to the extent necessary to pay any balance still due to the consignor, and such trusteeship shall continue until the fiduciary obligation of the consignee with respect to such transaction is discharged in full. (3) Notwithstanding the provisions of the "Uniform Commercial Code - Sales", no such trust property or trust funds shall be subject to or subordinate to any claims, liens, or security interests of the consignee's creditors. (4) An art dealer is strictly liable for the loss of or damage to a work of fine art while it is in his possession. The value of the work of fine art is, for the purposes of this subsection (4), the value established in a written agreement between the artist and the art dealer prior to the loss or damage of the work.

C.R.S. § 6-15-103 Penalties

6-15-103. Penalties. A violation by an art dealer of any of the provisions of this part 1 shall render the art dealer liable for damages to the artist in an amount equal to fifty dollars plus the actual damages sustained by the artist, including incidental and consequential damages. In such an action reasonable attorney fees and court costs shall be paid to the prevailing party.

C.R.S. § 6-15-104 Applicability

6-15-104. Applicability. (1) This part 1 shall not apply to any contract or arrangement in existence prior to March 25, 1982, nor to any extensions or renewals thereof; except that the parties to the contract or arrangement may thereafter elect to be governed by the provisions of this part 1. (2) Any provision, whether oral or written, in or pertaining to the placing of a work of fine art on consignment whereby any provision of this part 1 is waived shall be deemed to be against public policy and shall be void.

C.R.S. § 6-15-201 Short title

6-15-201. Short title. The short title of this part 2 is the "Indian Arts and Crafts Sales Act".

C.R.S. § 6-15-202 Legislative declaration

6-15-202. Legislative declaration. The purpose of this part 2 is to protect the public from false representation in the sale or offering for sale of authentic Indian and other arts and crafts.

C.R.S. § 6-15-203 Definitions

6-15-203. Definitions. As used in this part 2, unless the context otherwise requires: (1) "Authentic Indian arts and crafts" means any product that is handcrafted by Indian labor or workmanship and is not made from synthetic or artificial materials. (2) "Findings" means the smaller component parts of a handcrafted item, such as clasps, glass, silver, or synthetic beads, stamped parts not used as a major part of a handcrafted item, leather backings, binding materials, and other ingredient parts not a major part of a handcrafted item. (3) "Handcrafted" means the production of a product wholly by hand tools, with the exception of buffing or polishing and the findings used upon the products. (4) "Other arts and crafts" means any product that is represented as an Indian design or product but is not handcrafted by Indian labor or workmanship or that is made by machine or from synthetic or artificial materials. (5) "Imitation turquoise" means any artificial compound or mineral manufactured or treated so as to closely approximate turquoise in composition or color or any other mineral represented as turquoise when in fact it is not. (6) "Indian" means any person who is enrolled or is a lineal descendent of one enrolled upon an enrollment listing of the bureau of Indian affairs or upon the enrollment listing of a recognized Indian tribe domiciled in the United States or a person recognized by any Indian tribe as being Indian. (7) "Indian tribe" means any Indian tribe, organized band, or pueblo that is domiciled in the United States. (8) "Natural" means the status of a mineral component, used in the preparation of authentic Indian arts and crafts, that does not include any chemical alteration or discoloration. (9) "Plasticized" means the process through which natural turquoise of a soft, porous nature is altered by impregnating it with acrylic resin or any other substance of a similar nature to produce a change in coloration of the turquoise and allow it to accept a polished finish. (10) "Represented" means the presentation of a product in words, description, state of being, or symbols when the product is offered for sale, trade, exchange, or purchase. (11) "Spin cast" means the casting of jewelry components, other than findings, by means of centrifugal force. (12) "Stabilized" means the chemical process through which natural turquoise of a soft, porous nature is altered to produce a change in the coloration of the natural mineral. (13) "Treated" means any chemical process through which a natural turquoise is altered to produce a change in coloration of the natural mineral. (14) "Turquoise" means a blue, green, greenish-blue, or sky-blue mineral, containing phosphorus, aluminum, copper, and iron, used as a gemstone in its cut and polished form. (15) "Unnatural" means the status of any mineral compound or substance that is not natural or that has been chemically altered, including a stabilized, plasticized, or treated mineral and imitation turquoise.

C.R.S. § 6-15-204 Inquiry as to producer

6-15-204. Inquiry as to producer. (1) It is the duty of every person selling or offering for sale at retail authentic Indian arts and crafts or other arts and crafts to the general public to make due inquiry of their suppliers concerning the methods used in producing the arts and crafts and to determine whether the arts and crafts are in fact authentic. (2) It is hereby made the duty of every person selling or offering for sale at retail to the general public natural or unnatural turquoise to make due inquiry of their suppliers concerning the source, grade, and quality of the turquoise for resale. (3) If the supplier cannot authenticate to the seller the origin and process of manufacture regarding the Indian arts and crafts to be sold or traded to the seller, the seller shall not sell the arts and crafts to the general public as authentic Indian arts and crafts.

C.R.S. § 6-15-205 Unlawful acts

6-15-205. Unlawful acts. (1) A person shall not knowingly: (a) Sell or offer for sale any products represented as authentic Indian arts and crafts unless the products are in fact authentic Indian arts and crafts; (b) Sell or offer to sell any authentic Indian arts and crafts purporting to be silver unless the products are made of coin silver or sterling silver that is not less than ninety-percent pure silver by weight or unless the person provides a statement to the purchaser at retail concerning the content of the silver used in the arts or crafts; (c) Sell or offer to sell any authentic Indian arts and crafts that are not separately displayed from other arts and crafts and the authentic Indian arts and crafts are not clearly designated with a tag attached to each product and containing the words "Authentic Indian" in letters not less than one-quarter inch high or, if the authentic Indian arts and crafts can clearly be labeled by the use of a display card, then in lieu of tagging each article the person may label the authentic Indian arts and crafts with a printed display card in letters not less than one-half inch in height and containing the words "Authentic Indian". The label or display card shall be maintained with the related crafts in an area separate from other arts and crafts so as to clearly designate the authentic Indian arts and crafts. (d) Sell or offer to sell spin cast components of authentic Indian jewelry, other than findings, or use spin cast components in authentic Indian jewelry unless the jewelry is labeled as being so cast in its manufacture.

C.R.S. § 6-15-206 Unfair trade practices

6-15-206. Unfair trade practices. (1) A person shall not: (a) Use a false or misleading statement, written or oral, or the lack thereof, a visual description or the lack thereof, or any representation or lack thereof made in connection with the sale or trade of Indian arts and crafts in the regular course of trade or commerce with the intent to deceive or mislead any person; (b) Falsely represent turquoise being sold as having characteristics, elements, or qualities it does not have; (c) Falsely represent turquoise being sold as natural turquoise if in fact it is in an unnatural state; (d) Make a false or misleading statement of fact concerning the price or value for the purpose of selling or trading turquoise.

C.R.S. § 6-15-207 Violations - penalty

6-15-207. Violations - penalty. Any person who knowingly violates any of the provisions of section 6-15-205 or 6-15-206 commits a class 2 misdemeanor and shall be punished as provided in section 18-1.3-501.

C.R.S. § 6-15-208 Right of action - damages

6-15-208. Right of action - damages. In addition to any judicial relief, any person who suffers financial injury or damages by reason of anything forbidden in this part 2 may sue in district court and may recover actual damages sustained by him or her and the cost of suit, including reasonable attorney fees.
Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-06.docxFetched: 10/6/2026