Artist Resale Royalties Haven't Hindered Art Trade or Helped Artists in the U.K.

"In general, I think resale royalties is a pretty good idea," said painter Chuck Close, who with other artists and artists' estates filed in 2011 a class-action lawsuit against Christie's and Sotheby's for failing to collect and distribute a 5 percent royalty payment for artwork sold on the secondary market, which was required by a 1977 California law. "I know some artists who were successful in the 1960s and '70s and have since fallen on hard times and could really use the money." Mr. Close and...