An artist is hired to paint a portrait using a live-model method that requires two months of daily sessions. The subject dies after one week. Is the artist required to complete the painting?

• A. Yes, the contract survives death.
• B. No, because the celebrity died after only one week.
• C. No, the artist can substitute a different subject.
• D. Yes, if the family consents.

Answer: (B)

The main idea is that contracts for personal services can be discharged when performance becomes impossible due to the death of the person involved. Here, the artist’s obligation is to complete a portrait created by a live-model method, which relies on the living subject posing for two months. If the subject dies after one week, the essential condition for performing the contract—having the living subject to pose—cannot be met. Without that subject, the specific performance promised cannot occur, so the contract is discharged by impossibility. Substituting another subject or waiting for family consent would alter the fundamental nature of the agreed performance, and thus aren’t compatible with the original contract.