An Open Letter to Artists Everywhere

Hello! I’m Ronnie Walker, co-founder and President of the Art Legacy Institute — a newly established nonprofit with one clear mission: to help you protect your work and preserve your legacy.

I founded this organization alongside fellow veterans of the FBI’s Art Crime Team (ACT), a group of professionals I’ve worked closely with for years. Together, we bring a unique and informed perspective to the challenges facing artists today — and we’re putting that experience to work in service of your creative legacy.

Until recently, I served as a Special Agent with the FBI, where I spent the last 20 years assigned to the Art Crime Team. Our work focused on recovering stolen art and cultural artifacts, stopping forgeries, and preventing fraud from spreading through the global art market.

During that time, I was fortunate to collaborate with an incredible range of professionals — scholars, historians, gallerists, tribal leaders, museums, auction houses, law enforcement partners across the globe, and, most importantly, artists. I also spent hundreds of hours face-to-face with the people who commit art crimes — thieves, looters, fraudsters, and forgers. That rare combination of perspectives gave me invaluable insight into how art crimes happen and, more importantly, how they can be prevented.

Those insights — and a deep respect for the creative community — led me, along with my ACT colleagues, to create the Art Legacy Institute.

While our lens has been shaped through the investigative world of art crime, we share a common goal with art historians, museums, gallerists, collectors, and most importantly, with artists and their families: to ensure that artwork is protected, authenticated, and preserved for generations to come.

Art crime isn’t new — it’s as old as art itself. But today, thanks to online marketplaces, technological advances, and the skyrocketing value of contemporary art, artists face more exposure to forgery and fraud than ever before. Throughout my career with the Art Crime Team, I observed first-hand the increase in fraud and theft targeting living artists.

That’s where we come in.

At the Art Legacy Institute, we’re developing tools designed to help you:

  • Document your work clearly and securely

  • Establish provenance from the very beginning — with you, the artist

In 2025, we’ll be expanding this work: refining and testing these tools with artists, gathering feedback, and building practical protocols for use. We’ll also be bringing together supporters from across the art world who believe in this mission and are ready to help bring it to life.

If you’d like to stay informed or be part of this effort, we welcome you. Feel free to reach out directly, check back here for updates, or follow us on Instagram at @artlegacyinstitute_org.

And finally — thank you. Your work shapes our culture, tells our stories, and makes the world a more meaningful place. We’re here to help make sure it lasts.

Warm regards,
Ronnie Walker
Founder & President
Art Legacy Institute