CHAPTER 2. Full Disclosure in the Sale of Fine Prints [1742. - 1744.9.]

Cal. Civil Code - CIV 2.

in effect

Cal. Civil Code - CIV § 1742. Section 1742.

(a) An art dealer shall not sell or consign a multiple into or from this state unless a certificate of authenticity is furnished to the purchaser or consignee, at his or her request, or in any event prior to a sale or consignment, which sets forth as to each multiple, the descriptive information required by Section 1744 for any period. If a prospective purchaser so requests, the certificate shall be transmitted to him or her prior to the payment or placing of an order for a multiple. If payment is made by a purchaser prior to delivery of such a multiple, this certificate shall be supplied at the time of or prior to delivery. With respect to auctions, this information may be furnished in catalogues or other written materials which are made readily available for consultation and purchase prior to sale, provided that a bill of sale, receipt, or invoice describing the transaction is then provided which makes reference to the catalogue and lot number in which this information is supplied. Information supplied pursuant to this subdivision shall be clearly, specifically and distinctly addressed to each of the items listed in Section 1744 unless the required data is not applicable. This section is applicable to transactions by and between art dealers and others considered to be art dealers for the purposes of this title. (b) An art dealer shall not cause a catalogue, prospectus, flyer, or other written material or advertisement to be distributed in, into, or from this state which solicits a direct sale, by inviting transmittal of payment for a specific multiple, unless it clearly sets forth, in close physical proximity to the place in such material where the multiple is described, the descriptive information required by Section 1744 for any time period. In lieu of this required information, the written material or advertising may set forth the material contained in the following quoted passage, or the passage itself, if the art dealer then supplies the required information prior to or with delivery of the multiple. The nonobservance of the terms within the following passage shall constitute a violation of this title: “California law provides for disclosure in writing of information concerning certain fine prints, photographs, and sculptures prior to effecting a sale of them. This law requires disclosure of such matters as the identity of the artist, the artist’s signature, the medium, whether the multiple is a reproduction, the time when the multiple was produced, use of the plate which produced the multiple, and the number of multiples in a “limited edition.” If a prospective purchaser so requests, the information shall be transmitted to him or her prior to payment, or the placing of an order for a multiple. If payment is made by a purchaser prior to delivery of the multiple, this information will be supplied at the time of or prior to delivery, in which case the purchaser is entitled to a refund if, for reasons related to matter contained in such information, he or she returns the multiple in the condition in which received, within 30 days of receiving it. In addition, if after payment and delivery, it is ascertained that the information provided is incorrect, the purchaser may be entitled to certain remedies, including refund upon return of the multiple in the condition in which received.” This requirement is not applicable to general written material or advertising which does not constitute an offer to effect a specific sale. (c) In each place of business in the state where an art dealer is regularly engaged in sales of multiples, the art dealer shall post in a conspicuous place, a sign which, in a legible format, contains the information included in the following passage: “California law provides for the disclosure in writing of certain information concerning prints, photographs, and sculpture casts. This information is available to you, and you may request to receive it prior to purchase.” (d) If an art dealer offering multiples by means of a catalogue, prospectus, flyer or other written material or advertisement distributed in, into or from this state disclaims knowledge as to any relevant detail referred to in Section 1744, he or she shall so state specifically and categorically with regard to each such detail to the end that the purchaser shall be enabled to judge the degree of uniqueness or scarcity of each multiple contained in the edition so offered. Describing the edition as an edition of “reproductions” eliminates the need to furnish further informational details unless the edition was allegedly published in a signed, numbered, or limited edition, or any combination thereof, in which case all of the informational details are required to be furnished. (e) Whenever an artist sells or consigns a multiple of his or her own creation or conception, the artist shall disclose the information required by Section 1744, but an artist shall not otherwise be regarded as an art dealer.

Cal. Civil Code - CIV § 1742.6. Section 1742.6.

Any charitable organization which conducts a sale or auction of fine art multiples shall be exempt from the disclosure requirements of this title if it posts in a conspicuous place, at the site of the sale or auction, a disclaimer of any knowledge of the information specified in Section 1744, and includes such a disclaimer in a catalogue, if any, distributed by the organization with respect to the sale or auction of fine art multiples. If a charitable organization uses or employs an art dealer to conduct a sale or auction of fine art multiples, the art dealer shall be subject to all disclosure requirements otherwise required of an art dealer under this title.

Cal. Civil Code - CIV § 1744. Section 1744.

(a) Except as provided in subdivisions (c), (d), (e), and otherwise in this title, a certificate of authenticity containing the following informational details shall be required to be supplied in all transactions covered by subdivisions (a), (b), and (e) of Section 1742: (1) The name of the artist. (2) If the artist’s name appears on the multiple, a statement whether the multiple was signed by the artist. If the multiple was not signed by the artist, a statement of the source of the artist’s name on the multiple, such as whether the artist placed his signature on the multiple or on the master, whether his name was stamped or estate stamped on the multiple or on the master, or was from some other source or in some other manner placed on the multiple or on the master. (3) A description of the medium or process, and where pertinent to photographic processes, the material used in producing the multiple, such as whether the multiple was produced through the etching, engraving, lithographic, serigraphic, or a particular method or material used in photographic developing processes. If an established term, in accordance with the usage of the trade, cannot be employed accurately to describe the medium or process, a brief, clear description shall be made. (4) If the multiple or the image on or in the master constitutes, as to prints and photographs, a photomechanical or photographic type of reproduction, or as to sculptures a surmoulage or other form of reproduction of sculpture cases, of an image produced in a different medium, for a purpose other than the creation of the multiple being described, a statement of this information and the respective mediums. (5) If paragraph (4) is applicable, and the multiple is not signed, a statement whether the artist authorized or approved in writing the multiple or the edition of which the multiple being described is one. (6) If the purported artist was deceased at the time the master was made which produced the multiple, this shall be stated. (7) If the multiple is a “posthumous” multiple, that is, if the master was created during the life of the artist but the multiple was produced after the artist’s death, this shall be stated. (8) If the multiple was made from a master which produced a prior limited edition, or from a master which constitutes or was made from a reproduction or surmoulage of a prior multiple or the master which produced the prior limited edition, this shall be stated as shall the total number of multiples, including proofs, of all other editions produced from that master. (9) As to multiples produced after 1949, the year, or approximate year, the multiple was produced shall be stated. As to multiples produced prior to 1950, state the year, approximate year or period when the master was made which produced the multiple and when the particular multiple being described was produced. The requirements of this subdivision shall be satisfied when the year stated is approximately accurate. (10) Whether the edition is being offered as a limited edition, and if so: (i) the authorized maximum number of signed or numbered impressions, or both, in the edition; (ii) the authorized maximum number of unsigned or unnumbered impressions, or both, in the edition; (iii) the authorized maximum number of artist’s, publisher’s or other proofs, if any, outside of the regular edition; and (iv) the total size of the edition. (11) Whether or not the master has been destroyed, effaced, altered, defaced, or canceled after the current edition. (b) If the multiple is part of a limited edition, and was printed after January 1, 1983, the statement of the size of the limited edition, as stated pursuant to paragraph (10) of subdivision (a) of Section 1744 shall also constitute an express warranty that no additional multiples of the same image, including proofs, have been produced in this or in any other limited edition. (c) If the multiple was produced in the period from 1950 to the effective date of this section, the information required to be supplied need not include the information required by paragraphs (5) and (8) of subdivision (a). (d) If the multiple was produced in the period from 1900 to 1949, the information required to be supplied need only consist of the information required by paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (9) of subdivision (a). (e) If the multiple was produced before the year 1900, the information to be supplied need only consist of the information required by paragraphs (1), (3), and (9) of subdivision (a).

Cal. Civil Code - CIV § 1744.7. Section 1744.7.

Whenever an art dealer furnishes the name of the artist pursuant to Section 1744 for any time period after 1949, and otherwise furnishes information required by any of the subdivisions of Section 1744 for any time period, as to transactions including offers, sales, or consignments made to other than art dealers, and to other art dealers, such information shall be a part of the basis of the bargain and shall create express warranties as to the information provided. Such warranties shall not be negated or limited because the art dealer in the written instrument did not use formal words such as “warrant” or “guarantee” or because the art dealer did not have a specific intention or authorization to make a warranty or because any required statement is, or purports to be, or is capable of being merely the seller’s opinion. The existence of a basis in fact for information warranted by virtue of this subdivision shall not be a defense in an action to enforce such warranty. However, with respect to photographs and sculptures produced prior to 1950, and other multiples produced prior to 1900, as to information required by paragraphs (3), (4), (5), and (6) of subdivision (a) of Section 1744, the art dealer shall be deemed to have satisfied this section if a reasonable basis in fact existed for the information provided. When information is not supplied as to any subdivision or paragraph of Section 1744 because not applicable, this shall constitute the express warranty that the paragraph is not applicable. Whenever an art dealer disclaims knowledge as to a particular item about which information is required, such disclaimer shall be ineffective unless clearly, specifically, and categorically stated as to the particular item and contained in the physical context of other language setting forth the required information as to a specific multiple.

Cal. Civil Code - CIV § 1744.9. Section 1744.9.

(a) An artist or art dealer who consigns a multiple to an art dealer for the purpose of effecting a sale of the multiple, shall have no liability to a purchaser under this article if the consignor, as to the consignee, has complied with the provisions of this title. (b) When an art dealer has agreed to sell a multiple on behalf of a consignor, who is not an art dealer, or an artist has not consigned a multiple to an art dealer but the art dealer has agreed to act as the agent for an artist for the purpose of supplying the information required by this title, the art dealer shall incur the liabilities of other art dealers prescribed by this title, as to a purchaser.

Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026