Categorization as cultural property “of national significance”
Works by living artists can, in principle, gain considerable significance even during their lifetime.
Yet even important and highly respected works by contemporary artists will be entered in a register of cultural property of national significance only if they meet the stringent legal requirements that apply in this respect. Section 7 (1) of the German Act on the Protection of Cultural Property (Kulturgutschutzgesetz, KGSG) states that a work of this kind shall be entered in a register if it is:
“particularly significant for the cultural heritage of Germany, its Länder or one of its historical regions and thus formative for Germany’s cultural identity; and […] if its removal would be a significant loss for Germany’s cultural heritage so that keeping it in the federal territory is of outstanding cultural public interest.”
However, these provisions apply only to works by contemporary living artists in special individual cases. If the above requirements are met, such works may be entered in a register pursuant to Section 7 KGSG only with the artist’s approval, even if the latter has already sold the work.
Further details of the prerequisites for categorizing a work as being of national significance can be found in the section on cultural property of national significance and in the Guidance on the Act on the Protection of Cultural Property (available in German), from page 130 onwards.