Artists' Collecting Society

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Artists' Collecting Society

ACS is the premium collecting society for the administration of the Artist’s Resale Right (ARR).

The Artists’ Collecting Society (ACS) is the only Community Interest Company dedicated to the collection of the Artist’s Resale Right (ARR), or droit de suite, and copyright on behalf of artists and artists’ estates in both the UK and the EU. ARR is a royalty generated on the sale price of original works of art that are sold on the secondary market and it applies to all artists who are EU citizens. ACS was set up by Harriet Bridgeman (founder of Bridgeman Images) in response to requests from artists, dealers, auction houses and galleries who recognised the need for a transparent, fair and professional collecting society that puts artists’ needs first. Harriet Bridgeman’s experience, knowledge and passion for art ensured ACS was created ‘for the love of art’. ACS represents over 1,000 artists and artists’ estates including painters, sculptors, photographers, designers, and artists working in glass and ceramics. Our members range from well-known artists such as Frank Auerbach, Howard Hodgkin, Paula Rego and Martin Creed, to estates of important artists such as Lucian Freud and Barbara Hepworth. We are also proud to represent artists whose work has only recently started to sell regularly on the UK secondary market such as Bambi, Goshka Macuga and Eine.

05/10/2026

'Sarah Cunningham: Midnight Sun', the first institutional solo exhibition of ACS member Sarah Cunningham’s work, opens later this week at Nottingham Contemporary.

The exhibition marks a return to the city where Cunningham was born and raised and brings together the largest public display of the artist's paintings to date. Drawing on science fiction, ecology, art history and personal experience, Cunningham’s imagined landscapes move between abstraction and figuration, exploring the relationship between the natural world and human experience.

Until 10 Jan
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'The World It Softly Lulls', 2021 © Estate of Sarah Cunningham. Oil on canvas. 65 x 56 x 4 cm. Courtesy of Lisson Gallery.

04/10/2026

Today we are looking back through our archive to revisit our ‘Artist Spotlight’ interview with ACS member and winner of the 2026 ACS Venice Fellowship, Joshua Donkor.

Originally published following the artist’s exhibition at the Holburne Museum, Donkor discusses the ideas and experiences that inform his practice, as well as the sources of inspiration behind his work.
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The full archive of interviews is available on the ACS website's 'News' page or via the Linktree in our bio.⁣⁣
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'Aliyah Snap Shot' © Joshua Donkor. Courtesy of the artist.

03/10/2026

A new solo exhibition of work by ACS member John Armstrong opens at Upstone Gallery later this month.

The exhibition presents 13 paintings made between the 1930s and early 1950s, tracing a particularly significant period in Armstrong’s career, when classical mythology, modern European art and the artist’s personal experiences of a turbulent and changing world came together to inform their practice.

The selection of work highlights Armstrong’s distinctive approach to colour, light and composition. The exhibition is complemented by a fully illustrated catalogue featuring an essay by gallerist Robert Upstone.

14 Oct - 11 Nov
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'Cosmetics', c.1952 © Estate of John Armstrong. Oil on canvas. 10 x 12 inches (25.4 x 30.5 cm). Courtesy of the artist's estate and Upstone Gallery.

02/10/2026

ACS member Nina Mae Fowler presents 'Fan Girl' with Gillian Jason Gallery at Untitled Art, Houston this weekend

Created for the fair, the series comprises nine works centred on actresses with connections to the Midwest and Texas, including Judy Garland, Marilyn Monroe, Shelley Duvall and Dorothy Dandridge. Looking beyond their familiar public images, Fowler’s works pay tribute to the women behind the carefully constructed personas of Hollywood.

Until 4 Oct
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'Fan Girl - Judy', 2026 © Nina Mae Fowler. Pencil on paper on linen with eyelets and ostrich feathers. 80 x 60 cm. Courtesy of the artist.

29/09/2026

'Song of Stone', ACS member Emily Young’s upcoming solo showcase of work, will open at Willoughby Gerrish’s new St James’s gallery next week.

Bringing together a new selection of stone sculptures, the exhibition reflects on Young’s longstanding engagement with the material and its connection to landscape, history and the passage of time.

Working with the natural qualities of each individual piece of stone, Young allows the material itself to inform how the final piece emerges. Describing her artistic process as one of "listening, watching [and] waiting to be guided."

Until 13 Nov
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'A Green Thought in a Green Shade II', 2026 © Emily Young. Verdite. 26 × 11 × 20 cm. Courtesy of the artist.

28/09/2026

'Wilhelmina Barns-Graham', Tate St Ives’ major survey of the ACS member’s work, opens next month.

Bringing together more than 170 paintings, drawings and archival materials, the exhibition traces eight decades of Barns-Graham’s practice, from the artist’s early landscapes to the increasingly abstract works of later years. Across the exhibition, landscape remains a recurring point of departure, with experiences of Scotland, Cornwall and continental Europe translated into compositions shaped by colour, movement and sensation.

24 Oct - 3 May 2027
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Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, 'The Blue Studio', 1948 © Wilhelmina Barns-
Graham Trust. Courtesy of The Fleming Collection.

24/09/2026

The winner of the 2026 ACS Studio Prize has been announced!

Selected by Sir Gabriele Finaldi, David Dawson, Philip Mould OBE and Viscountess Bridgeman CBE, this year’s ACS Studio Prize has been awarded to Royal College of Art graduate Alexander Koch.

Koch's practice fuses elements of past and future by transforming memories, dreams, and speculative ideas into vivid contemporary compositions.

The artist writes: "Through engaging with painting, I try to use memory (the past), dreams and ideas (the future) in order to activate something in the present. Searching for a personal truth, something honest [...] I believe painting is more than just a picture, and through the use of the paint, through finding new ways for the works to be shown, primed or generally constructed, there is the potential to create the right conditions for these [stories] to be told."

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In order of appearance:

1. 'Borderland', 2026 © Alexander Koch. Oil on canvas. 135 x 250cm. Courtesy of the artist.

2. 'Recurrence', 2026 © Alexander Koch. Oil on canvas. 170 x 250 cm. Courtesy of the artist.

3. 'Untitled', 2026 © Alexander Koch. Oil on wood. 20 x 30 cm. Courtesy of the artist.

4. 'Without Morning', 2026 © Alexander Koch. Oil on wood. 20 x 30 cm. Courtesy of the artist.

5. 'Gaze in the Pond', 2026 © Alexander Koch. Oil on wood. 30 x 20 cm. Courtesy of the artist.

6. 'Held Between', 2025 © Alexander Koch. Oil on canvas. 150 x 200cm. Courtesy of the artist.

23/09/2026

Last night, the Artists' Collecting Society announced the winner of the 2026 ACS Studio Prize - congratulations once again to Alexander Koch!⁣⁣
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A huge congratulations also goes to this year's wonderful finalists, Benjamin Blanc, Rachel Coyne, Bunny Hennessey and Samah Rafiq!⁣
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Many thanks to Gurr Johns (⁣) for hosting the fourth annual exhibition, and to Cass Art () for generously gifting each of the finalists a £100 Cass Art voucher. ⁣
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The exhibition will remain on display until lunchtime this Friday, so please do drop in if you are in the area!⁣⁣

Opening Hours:⁣⁣

⁣⁣Wednesday: 10 am - 5 pm⁣⁣
Thursday: 10 am - 5 pm⁣⁣
Friday: 10 am - 12 pm (By Appointment Only)⁣

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1. ACS Studio Prize 2026 Winner Poster featuring the artist in their studio © Alexander Koch. Courtesy of the artist.⁣

2. ACS Studio Prize 2026 Finalist Poster featuring the artist in their studio © Benjamin Blanc. Photo courtesy of Stella McGarvey.⁣

3. ACS Studio Prize 2026 Finalist Poster featuring the artist in their studio © Rachel Coyne. Courtesy of the artist.⁣

4. ACS Studio Prize 2026 Finalist Poster featuring the artist in their studio © Bunny Hennessey. Photo courtesy of Masha Riev.⁣

5. ACS Studio Prize 2026 Finalist Poster featuring the artist in their studio © Samah Rafiq. Photo courtesy of Stella McGarvey.⁣

21/09/2026

The fourth annual ACS Studio Prize x Gurr Johns exhibition will open tomorrow, showcasing work by this year's finalists alongside 2025 Prize winner Georgia Dymock!⁣

The 2026 finalists, Benjamin Blanc, Rachel Coyne, Bunny Hennessey, Alexander Koch and Samah Rafiq, were selected by Sir Gabriele Finaldi, David Dawson, Philip Mould OBE and Viscountess Bridgeman CBE.⁣
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The exhibition will be on display at Gurr Johns International, 16 Pall Mall, London, between 22 - 25 September, with the winner of this year's Prize to be announced at 7 pm on Tuesday 22 September.⁣
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Opening Hours:⁣⁣
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Tuesday: Private View 6 - 8 pm⁣⁣
Wednesday: 10 am - 5 pm⁣⁣
Thursday: 10 am - 5 pm⁣⁣
Friday: 10 am - 12 pm (By Appointment Only)⁣
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Detail of 'Coiled in Contemplation', 2026 © ACS Studio Prize 2025 Winner, Georgia Dymock.⁣

19/09/2026

The countdown has begun with only three days to go until the fourth annual ACS Studio Prize x Gurr Johns Exhibition opens!⁣⁣
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Ahead of next week's show, we thought we would take the final opportunity to showcase the work of this year's wonderful finalists!⁣⁣
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The exhibition will be on display at Gurr Johns International, 16 Pall Mall, London, between 22 - 25 September, with the winner of this year's Prize to be announced at 7 pm on Tuesday 22 September.⁣
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Opening Hours:⁣⁣
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Tuesday: Private View 6 - 8 pm⁣⁣
Wednesday: 10 am - 5 pm⁣⁣
Thursday: 10 am - 5 pm⁣⁣
Friday: 10 am - 12 pm (By Appointment Only)⁣

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1. 'Inventory', 2026 © Benjamin Blanc. Oil on canvas. 200 x 180cm. Courtesy of the artist.

2. Detail of 'Ag Lorg Cabhrach', 2026 © Rachel Coyne. Oil on canvas. 100 x 120cm. Courtesy of the artist.

3. Detail of 'Spring Clean', 2026 © Bunny Hennessey. Acrylic and oil on canvas. 220 x 200cm. Photo courtesy of Corey Bartle-Sanderson.

4. Detail of 'Held Between', 2025 © Alexander Koch. Oil on canvas. 150 x 200cm. Courtesy of the artist.

5. 'Chalice I' & 'Chalice II', 2026 © Samah Rafiq. Oil on canvas. 25 x 60cm. Courtesy of the artist.

Address

Camden Town

Telephone

+44 (0)345 1122400

Website

http://www.artistscollectingsociety.org/

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