Art & Heritage

Sherrards’ Art & Heritage team consists of lawyers who have worked in auction houses and galleries and been employed as in-house counsel. These experiences inside the art and cultural sector allow us to advise our clients from a genuinely informed perspective.

We offer personalised advice to artists, art collectors, individuals and families who own art or heritage chattels, owners of heritage buildings, art dealers, executors and trustees. We have particular experience advising the representatives of artists’ estates.

We advise on the law, tax and strategy. We work closely with our colleagues across departments, ensuring we provide high levels of expertise on each matter. We can support you on various legal challenges and opportunities, including commercial matters, litigation, real estate, heritage, and more.

Our reputation in the art and heritage sector reflects the clients we work with: excellent, knowledgeable and high-class.

If you think you would benefit from our experience and advice, please do contact us on the details below.

Photo © Arthur Byng Nelson with thanks to the Estate of Patrick Caulfield. 

• Advising an artist on the contract for the commission of a public sculpture and negotiating improved financial terms
• Advising an art dealer on an auction house’s terms and conditions in the context of a purchased forgery
• Advising a family holding pre-eminent items on a successful acceptance in lieu offer to the nation

• Advising an artist on an agreement to curate an exhibition at a UK national museum
• Advising an artist’s estate on licensing requests from a New York museum
• Advising an international collector on a loan agreement and sale and purchase agreement of significant works of art