Introduced in the United Kingdom on 14 February 2006, ARR is an intellectual property right which entitles artists to a percentage of the sale price whenever their work is resold on the secondary market.

The origins of the royalty are often traced back to the public outcry sparked by the revelation that the relatives of Jean-François Millet (1814–75) were living in poverty while the artist’s work fetched enormous prices at auction.

As well as 20 years of ARR, 2026 also marks the 20th anniversary of the Artists’ Collecting Society (ACS). Established in 2006 by Harriet Bridgeman, founder and Chairman of Bridgeman Images, ACS was conceived on the underlying principle that artists and their estates should benefit from the increasing value of their work.

As the only not-for-profit, Community Interest Company administering the Artist’s Resale Right in the UK, ACS see first-hand how the ARR benefits both emerging and established artists as well as their estates.

As well as fostering a fairer art market by supporting artists’ livelihoods, ARR offers support to artists and artists’ estates that have only recently started to appear on the secondary market. Over the last 20 years, ACS has borne witness to the ways in which ARR is used by artists and artists’ estates to sustain their creative practice and legacy.  Reviewing the royalties administered in 2025, we know that 66% of all royalties administered in 2025 had a sale price of £5,000 or less. Furthermore, 85% of all ARR royalties paid to member artists and artists’ estates in the year ending 2025 totalled £500 or less.

Over the years, ACS’ membership has continued to grow and represents a diverse range of artists and artists’ estates. Our members include an exciting mixture of artists such as renowned painters Lucian Freud, Paula Rego, Frank Auerbach and Eileen Cooper, sculptors Barbara Hepworth, Lynn Chadwick and Anthony Caro, street artists Eine and Bambi and photographers such as Cecil Beaton and Bill Brandt. These names represent just a small selection of the close to 2,000 artists and artists’ estates who have chosen ACS to represent them.

The idea that artists and their estates should benefit from the increasing value of their work is the underlying reason that ACS was founded as a Community Interest Company (CIC). As a CIC, any surplus income is automatically locked into ACS and is only used for the benefit of our member artists and the artistic community – with a particular emphasis on education, rehabilitation and younger, emerging artists.

In addition to 20 Years of both ARR and ACS, 2026 also marks the 10th anniversary of the ACS Studio Prize. Founded in 2017, the ACS Studio Prize offers a recent graduate the chance to win £6,000 to contribute to the cost of an artist’s studio in a UK city of their choice and was established after a number of our members spoke of the economic challenges they faced when starting their artistic careers.

The most recent winner, Slade School of Fine Art graduate, Georgia Dymock, was awarded the ACS Studio Prize during the ACS Studio Prize x Gurr Johns Exhibition private view, generously hosted by Gurr Johns International, by the prestigious judging panel, which included Victoria Miro, Melanie Gerlis, Hester Westley and ACS Chairman, Harriet Bridgeman. You can find a full list of past ACS Studio Prize winners here.

Over the last 20 years, ACS have continuously supported charities, such as the Artists’ General Benevolent Institution (AGBI) and the Koestler Arts, and sponsored prizes, including the Young Masters Art Prize. In addition, ACS proudly offers a wide variety of residencies, material prizes, and bursaries to fine art students and recent graduates at universities and art schools throughout the UK and wider EEA. 

We are thrilled to see how past prize winners, including Rebecca Harper, Flora Yukhnovich, Anna Pakosz, Georg Wilson, Dion Kitson, Elena Njoabuzia Onwochei-Garcia and Eleanor May Watson have gone on to exhibit at prestigious galleries and art fairs. 

The above is just a small snapshot of how ACS supports the artistic community. You can read more about the work ACS do and the organisations we have partnered with on our Prizes & Bursaries page.