Exporting art under Polish law

Abstract

One of the best ways to promote an artist is to sell his work to a famous, international collection. There are strong voices in law and art economy, claiming that Polish legal regulation regarding art export is unnecessarily strict and complicated, which results in suppressed promotion of arts and cultural development. In the following article, I am exploring this problem by analyzing current Polish legal regulations as well as contemporary cases relevant to the topic. I am also investigating the problem by delving into Polish history, especially the aftermath of the Swedish Deluge and World War II, which both resulted in looting and destruction of Polish cultural heritage on a catastrophic scale. I determine that Polish legal regulations regarding art export are, in fact, on the strict side and are constructed to keep cultural heritage inside the borders. However, this approach is completely justified by the cultural and political climate in which those regulations were conducted. That being said, more than half a century after the last major art looting that took place on Polish grounds, it is time to reevaluate and adjust some of the legal regulations. I conclude my article with the proposition of expanding autonomy for the museum’s board of directors in dealing with exhibits under their care.