LONDON.- The Institute for Artists’ Estates is a new organisation committed to enabling and supporting best practice in the posthumous preservation and development of artists’ estates, founded by Dr Loretta Würtenberger and Daniel Tümpel. The Institute, which is the first of its kind in Europe, has been established in response to a need for a centralised source of information and professional support for artists, their children, and others charged with structuring and managing an artist’s legacy.

As Dr Loretta Würtenberger describes: ‘When considering managing an artist’s legacy in the long term there are many issues which arise at different points in the process. There are legal and financial realities as well as curatorial, ethical and emotional concerns to take into consideration. We are building something for which there is already a great demand: a central source for advice and an opportunity for those facing similar questions on best practice to share information.’

The Institute comprises consultancy and management services, training and seminars for estate managers, networking opportunities and a research archive which is continually updated. Central to its activity is a strong commitment to education, with particular emphasis on increasing academic activity around the subject of artists’ estates. As it develops, the Institute will also fund annual research fellowships for academics, researchers and curators focusing on this field.

The peer-to-peer advice offered by the Institute is built on first-hand understanding of managing an estate. Founders Würtenberger and Tümpel have a decade of experience advising and managing artists’ estates, including of Sophie Tauber-Arp, Hans Arp and Keith Arnatt, and Daniel Tümpel has managed the estate of the Bauhaus artist Wolfgang Tümpel, his grandfather, since 2006.

The combined expertise represented by the Institute covers legal and tax frameworks, academic and curatorial approaches, a close association with the art market, and appropriate handling of specialist areas such as authentication and archiving. The Institute also provides sustainable and responsible management of estates, including the development of a catalogue raisonné, selection of appropriate galleries, creation of a museum strategy and formulating academic concepts for the estate.