3VB Launches the Richard Edwards QC Art Law Prize
3VB is delighted to announce the launch of the Richard Edwards QC Art Law Prize, established to honour the outstanding legacy of Richard Edwards QC, to encourage legal scholarship in art, cultural heritage and the law, and to support those aspiring to a career in those fields.
Essayists – undergraduate and postgraduate students aged 26 or under as of Friday 27 November 2026 – are invited to submit an original essay addressing a contemporary legal issue relating to art, antiquities, cultural heritage, or the art market. Entries will be judged by an expert panel drawn from leading practitioners and academics in the field.
The winners will receive:
- 1st place: £2500, and one week’s work experience with the Stephenson Harwood Art Law Group
- 2nd place: £1000, and one week’s internship at the Institute of Art and Law
- 3rd place: £500
The first prize essay with be published in Art, Antiquity and the Law, the quarterly journal of the Institute of Art & Law, and on the 3VB website.
A two-day placement in Sotheby’s “Working in the Arts” programme will also be offered for the best essay by an undergraduate or GDL student.
Full details of the competition, including the 2026 essay topic, eligibility criteria, essay requirements, and submission deadlines, are available in the competition rules.
We look forward to receiving entries from talented aspiring practitioners and scholars.
Find out more and enter the Richard Edwards QC Art Law Prize here.
