Effective date: June 2026 Last updated: June 2026
The Art Curator (“the Gallery”, “we”, “us”, “our”) respects the privacy of every collector, visitor, and enquirer who reaches us through this website. This policy explains, in plain language, what personal information we collect, why we collect it, how we look after it, and the rights you hold over it under the Protection of Personal Information Act, 4 of 2013 (“POPIA”).
We have written this policy to be read, not skimmed past. If anything here is unclear, please write to us at henry@artcurator.co.za and we will explain it properly.
1. Who is responsible for your information
The Art Curator is the responsible party under POPIA for any personal information collected through this website.
Contact details:
- Gallery: The Art Curator
- Physical address: Lourensford Wine Estate, Lourensford Road, Somerset West
- Postal address: Lourensford Wine Estate, Lourensford Road, Somerset West
- Email: henry@artcurator.co.za
Write to henry@artcurator.co.za about anything in this policy, or about your own personal information. Data-protection questions are handled by the gallery directly, and we will tell you who has dealt with your request when we reply.
2. What information we collect
We only collect what we need to respond to you properly. Specifically:
When you email us about a painting, or send us a general message, we collect:
- Your full name
- Your email address
- Your telephone number (and WhatsApp number, if you provide it)
- The contents of your message and any details you choose to share about the painting you are interested in
- The painting reference, if you enquired from a specific catalogue page
When you visit the website, we automatically collect: nothing.
There is no analytics tool running on this site at present. We do not record your IP address, your browser or device type, the pages you view, or the time you spend on them. We use no tracking cookies and no third-party advertising trackers of any kind. As with any website, your request reaches our hosting provider, which keeps its own standard server logs; we do not use those to build any picture of you.
If we ever switch analytics on, we will name the tool here and say exactly what it collects before it is enabled, and we will ask for your consent first.
We do not knowingly collect any special personal information as defined in POPIA (such as health, religious or political views, or biometric data). Please do not include any such information in your enquiries; if you do, you consent to us processing it only for the purpose of responding to you.
3. Why we collect it (the purposes of processing)
The information you give us is used only for the purposes you would reasonably expect:
- To respond to your enquiry about a painting or general question.
- To send you the further details you have asked for, such as condition reports, additional photographs, dimensions, or pricing.
- To arrange a viewing at the gallery, a private appointment, or delivery of a piece.
- To process and fulfil a sale, including issuing an invoice and a certificate of authenticity where applicable.
- To improve the website, understand which paintings draw interest, and make the catalogue easier to use.
- To meet any legal, tax, or regulatory obligations that apply to us as a South African business.
4. The lawful basis on which we rely
Under POPIA, we may only process your personal information if we have a lawful basis to do so. We rely on the following:
- Your consent, which you give by sending us an enquiry or ticking a consent box. You may withdraw your consent at any time.
- The performance of a contract with you, such as the sale and delivery of a painting.
- Our legitimate interests, such as running and improving a gallery website, keeping records of sales, and protecting our business from fraud, provided those interests do not override your rights.
- Compliance with a legal obligation, such as keeping financial records for tax purposes.
5. How long we keep your information
We do not keep your information for longer than we need it.
- Enquiry messages: retained for up to three years from your last contact with us, so that we can follow up appropriately and serve you well if you return.
- Sales records: retained for a minimum of five years in line with the requirements of the South African Revenue Service and the Companies Act.
After these periods, your personal information is either deleted or fully anonymised.
6. Who we share your information with
We are a small, family-run gallery and we treat your information accordingly. We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to anyone, ever.
We share information only with the following parties, and only to the extent necessary:
- Our website and email service providers, such as our website hosting platform and our email provider, who store and transmit the information on our behalf.
- Payment processors, where you choose to purchase a painting and a secure payment service is used to process the transaction.
- Shipping and logistics partners, where a painting needs to be delivered to you. They receive only the name, delivery address, and contact details required to complete the delivery.
- Professional advisors, such as our accountant or attorney, where there is a clear and necessary reason to do so.
- Regulators, courts, or law enforcement, but only where we are legally required to.
Where any of these parties are located outside South Africa, we take reasonable steps to ensure your information is protected to a standard comparable to POPIA, as required by section 72 of the Act.
7. How we protect your information
We use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information from loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration, or disclosure. These include encrypted connections to the website, access controls on the inbox, strong passwords with two-factor authentication wherever it is available, and the principle that only those who need access to your information have it.
No system is ever perfectly secure. If a security compromise affecting your personal information ever occurs, we will notify both you and the Information Regulator as required by section 22 of POPIA.
8. Your rights as a data subject
POPIA gives you a clear set of rights over your personal information. You have the right to:
- Be notified when we collect your information and when it is accessed without authorisation.
- Request access to the personal information we hold about you.
- Request correction of information that is inaccurate, out of date, or incomplete.
- Request deletion of information we no longer have a lawful reason to keep.
- Object to the processing of your information, including for direct marketing.
- Withdraw your consent at any time, where consent is the basis on which we are processing.
- Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator if you believe we have not handled your information properly.
To exercise any of these rights, write to henry@artcurator.co.za. We will respond within a reasonable period and, in any event, within the timeframes set by POPIA. We may ask you to verify your identity before acting on a request.
9. Direct marketing
We do not run a newsletter or any other marketing mailing list, and this website has no signup for one. We send no marketing email.
If that ever changes, this policy will be updated before the first message is sent, and we will ask for your consent first. We will never use your enquiry message as a basis for adding you to a marketing list without that separate consent.
10. Cookies and analytics
This website sets no cookies.
The one thing it stores on your device is your cookie-preference choice, kept in your browser’s own local storage so that we do not ask you again on every visit. It never leaves your device and is never sent to us. You can clear it at any time through your browser settings.
No analytics tool is running at present, so no analytics cookies are set either. If we enable one, this policy and the Cookie policy will be updated to name it and to say what it collects, and your consent will be asked for before it runs.
11. Children
This website is intended for adults. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under the age of eighteen. If you believe a child has submitted personal information to us, please contact henry@artcurator.co.za and we will remove it.
12. Lodging a complaint
If you are not satisfied with how we have handled your personal information, please raise it with us first at henry@artcurator.co.za. We will take it seriously and respond.
If you remain unhappy, you are entitled to complain to the Information Regulator of South Africa:
- The Information Regulator (South Africa)
- JD House, 27 Stiemens Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2001
- PO Box 31533, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2017
- Telephone: 010 023 5200
- Complaints email: complaints.IR@justice.gov.za
- General enquiries: inforeg@justice.gov.za
13. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time, for example when our processes change or when the law is updated. The “Last updated” date at the top of this page tells you when the most recent change was made. Material changes will be flagged clearly on the website.
14. Contact us
If you have any question about this policy or about your personal information, please write to:
Henry Taylor The Art Curator henry@artcurator.co.za
We read every message.