We typically believe that if we entrust our property to someone else to sell it, the property remains ours until it is sold. However, this may not always be true. If the party into whose hands property has been entrusted files for bankruptcy, the entrusted property may be deemed to be property of the debtor’s bankruptcy estate and the bankruptcy trustee may have the right to sell the property and the debtor’s secured creditors and judgment creditors may even have a higher priority to receive distribution of proceeds from the property’s sale.     

This type of transaction is a “consignment,” which the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) defines as “a transaction. . . in which a person delivers goods to a merchant for the purpose of sale.” UCC § 9-102(a)(20). To qualify as a consignment, the consigned artwork must have a value of not less than $1,000 and must not be “consumer goods.” UCC § 9-102(a)(20)(B). “Consumer goods” are those which are “used or bought for use primarily for personal, family, or household purposes.” UCC § 9-102(a)(23). Although many artworks will be considered consumer goods, particularly those consigned by art collectors, artworks that are held for investment purposes or which are consigned by art dealers, corporate entities (i.e., corporate collections), or museums are not consumer goods. Also, the party to whom the artwork is consigned (the consignee) must deal in artwork of that kind, must not be an auctioneer, and must not be generally known to sell artworks owned by others. UCC § 9-102(a)(20)(A).      …
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