Artists Rights Society History

Artists Rights Society, sometimes better known by its acronym, ARS, was established by Dr. Theodore Feder in 1987 at the invitation of the then two national visual artists’ rights societies of France. Today ARS exclusively represents the French repertory of artists as well as the repertories of every other nation in the European Union. In turn these foreign sister societies represent ARS’ American repertory in their respective countries.

Today, ARS is proud to be the exclusive licensing representative of such prominent estates and foundations as those of Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Marc Chagall, Joan Miro, Andy Warhol, Frida Kahlo, Mark Rothko, Jackson Pollock, Jacob Lawrence, Isamu Noguchi, Georgia O’Keeffe, and many others. ARS also represents scores of preeminent living artists, including Frank Stella, George Condo, Lawrence Weiner, Santiago Calatrava, Faith Ringgold, Damien Hirst, Larry Poons, Anish Kappoor, and Jenny Holzer. In addition to our more prominent members, ARS is dedicated to serving and improving the lot of thousands of its less-heralded member artists who labor daily at their craft.

In 2018, ARS was pleased to add all VAGA member artists to its already extensive list of modern and contemporary creators. With VAGA now under the umbrella of ARS, we are proud to represent such notable artists as Louise Bourgeois, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, David Salle, Alex Katz, Grant Wood, and many more.