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The Deans’ Choice gives consignors a voluntary way to share secondary-market proceeds with living artists, with Bonhams matching the contribution.
The relationship between an artist and their work usually changes once a piece enters the secondary market. A painting can appreciate dramatically, change hands several times and generate substantial value, while the artist who created it may receive nothing from those later sales.
Alicia Keys and Kasseem “Swizz Beatz” Dean are now challenging that model through a new partnership with Bonhams.
A Different Kind Of Auction Model
The Deans’ Choice is a voluntary programme launching with Bonhams’ November 2026 New York auctions of 20th- and 21st-century art. Consignors can choose to direct a percentage of the hammer price to the living artist whose work is being sold, while Bonhams will match the contribution.
Bonhams suggests a 5% contribution from consignors, although participation remains optional. Specific works participating in the November auctions had not yet been announced at the time of the September announcement.
For Keys and Dean, the idea reflects something they already understand through music: royalties allow creators to continue benefiting from the value generated by their work.
Why The Secondary Market Matters
Artist resale rights exist in more than 90 countries, but efforts to establish a comparable system in the United States have largely stalled. The debate has persisted for decades, particularly as contemporary artists watch their works increase substantially in value after the original sale.
The Deans have been advocating for greater participation by artists in the secondary market for years, with Dean discussing the idea of a “Dean Choice” model as early as 2019.
The significance of the Bonhams initiative lies in its simplicity. Rather than waiting for legislation, it creates a voluntary mechanism within the auction process itself.
A Broader Conversation
The programme also arrives at a moment when collectors are increasingly considering the cultural impact of how they buy and sell art. For living artists, particularly those building markets while still actively producing work, secondary-market success can create enormous visibility without necessarily creating direct financial participation.
Whether other auction houses follow Bonhams remains to be seen. For now, The Deans’ Choice introduces a different question into the auction room: should the artist continue to participate in the value of their work after the first sale?
