Jeff Koons with his BMW Art Car in 2010. Photo by FRED DUFOUR / AFP) (Photo by FRED DUFOUR/AFP via Getty Images

The art world has a love-hate relationship with the commercial arts—the fields of advertising and product design, particularly. Fine artists and street artists both have brought lawsuits against numerous retailers, including Alaska Airlines, American Eagle Outfitters, Coach, Epic Records, Fiat, General Motors, H&M, McDonald’s, Mercedes-Benz, Moschino, Puma North America, Roberto Cavalli, Starbucks and The North Face, for making unauthorized use of copyrighted imagery. Settlements usually are the outcome.

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However, many fine artists have welcomed the opportunity to license their images to advertisers and product manufacturers. Back in 2018, painter Kehinde Wiley signed an agreement with Hollywood-based Brillstein Entertainment Partners for representation in film, TV and endorsements. The deal involved Wiley working closely with Brillstein to identify directing opportunities, option books and produce and develop his own material, as well as collaborate with other screenwriters and creators, in addition to licensing his works.

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Wiley is not alone in this type of entrepreneurial endeavor. Jeff Koons, Vik Muniz, Julian Schnabel and Kara Walker have all licensed images to the giftware company Bernardaud, while automobile manufacturer BMW has a line of thirty-five Art Cars decorated........

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