Law and Art Brut
Legal Status of Interned Artists and the Legal Regime Governing Their Works
Conference – May 22, 2026
Under the scientific direction of:
J. Masó (University of Barcelona) and A. Robin (University of Montpellier)
In partnership with:
the ADHUC Research Laboratory at the University of Barcelona and
the Museum of Art Brut, Singular & Other Arts in Montpellier
Since 1945 and its invention by Jean Dubuffet, Art Brut has become a permanent fixture on the contemporary art scene. Museums, major public institutions, private collectors, and gallery owners have made significant acquisitions in this sector, effectively confirming the existence of a specific market and the speculation that accompanies it. While the art market regularly raises questions—and even outrage—regarding the distribution of value, these issues take on even greater prominence when it comes to Art Brut.
Originally composed of works acquired from psychiatrists and mental institutions, the collection assembled by Jean Dubuffet is , in fact, mired in a significant legal gray area: namely, the status of works created by individuals deprived of their freedom of action through institutionalization and/or their status as legally incapacitated adults. Does the incorporation of this collection into a public institution—as is the case with Dubuffet’s collection at the museum in Lausanne—put an end to potential claims by the successors of the rights holders? This question naturally extends to other public institutions in France and elsewhere that display this type of artwork. How can we resolve the conflict between the specific legal right of museums—defined as the inalienability of public collections—and that of the families and descendants of these incarcerated artists? These are all questions that, from a legal standpoint, concern artists, their families, public institutions, and the public itself—which is sometimes confronted, within this aesthetic as well, with art fraud.
Program
Illustration: “The Queen of Greece,” by Aloïse Corbaz
Courtesy of the Musée d’Arts Brut, Singulier & Autres in Montpellier