If so, it may be considered to be illegal to make copies of such drawings permanently, en masse, to the general public, because exclusivity is an inherent component of the purchase price.
That's not the case yet, and lets hope it never will be, that would mean you can't make an copy of the
Mona Liza, Icons on Orthodox churches, and any images currently in Art Galleries, or afford to write a book on Art. And you couldn't quote a known image in any new work you were doing. eg, set a story in
the Louvre and draw the actually paintings or sculptures in your work. Art schools and libraries couldn't afford to pay all the fees to show students the images they need to know for their education.
If you've been to an Art Gallery you've seen the shops attached where they have postcards, mugs, toys and calendars and expensive prints of the images they own - they won't give up that kind of money-making easily. Also, It would make comic collecting a nightmare. If I owned an original Kirby cover, would that mean nobody could reproduce it without paying me a fee, if I choose to let them? So how could a shop advertise comics to selll? And what government agency would need to be set up to monitor all this? Never mind how ebay would work? So if you were a learning artist and you copied somebody's famous work to learn, you could get sued for it if the image was found?
Terrible thought, lets not give anybody ideas? I think collectors primarily want to own an original. And they like people to know about it. Its only when they have acquired the original illegally that they are likely to keep it secret. Or if they are a little obsessed.
Cheers!