There once was a man who said God Must think it exceedingly odd If He Finds that this tree Continues to be When there's no one around in the Quad (Mgr Ronald Knox).

From April 2003, the Artlaw articles published in this column over the past 26 years will be available online at www.

It is not widely remembered that William Hogarth, amongst his many other achievements, was the prime sponsor of a copyright statute, the Engravers' Copyright Act of 1735 - better known as 'Hogarth's Act' - which gave legal protection for the first time to works of the visual arts (books had been protected since 1711).

Heard any good myths lately? Try these for size. 'I thought Henry Lydiate was a middle-aged rich solicitor, with a plush office in the Strand, who makes lots of money out of artists.

The British Art World is a notoriously diverse and divided community. The Whitechapel Conference organised by Artlaw on Jan 4, 1980, was remarkable in that it attracted an audience made up of a unique cross section of artists (from performance art to a sculptor/taxidermist, lawyers (from Q.

Artquest's Artlaw articles and web services are free for anyone to use anywhere in the world.   Artlaw can also provide free specialist legal advice to London-based visual artists and craftspeople (see the Who we can help page for more information).

This month, the International Bar Association Conference at Cannes will review the work carried out to date by its 'Educational Trust Cultural Property Law and Research and Educational Project'.

Visual artists, like any other members of the community, are subject to the ordinary laws of the land, but many are often unaware of the significant role the law plays in their working lives.

The cuts in part-time art school teaching is one of the most myopic acts of vandalism ever committed by the establishment in recent years: shortsighted it surely is.

A large brown envelope. It arrived during the summer and had something from the Arts Council of Great Britain about data protection inside.