Original Prints and Reproductions: Reading the Description

The word “print” needs context. It may describe an artist’s print, an image reproduced from another work, or a plate within a publication containing several kinds of image. A signature or edition number alone does not settle that distinction.

Separate process from artistic authorship

Lithography is a printing process using a flat stone or prepared plate, as illustrated by The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s materials and techniques guide. Identifying a process is one question; establishing how the artist contributed to a particular image is another. Retain words such as “after,” “reproduction” and “facsimile” when the publication’s evidence calls for them.

Read mixed contents carefully

The Matisse Cinquante Dessins listing describes one original etching and fifty reproduced drawings. Those are distinct parts of one publication. The 1946 Rivera portfolio is described as ten color reproductions of frescoes; its loose sheets are not the original murals.

Keep signatures and edition evidence separate

Ask whether a signature is handwritten or printed and where it occurs. A reproduced signature should remain qualified even in a limited publication. Compare the title sheet, colophon, printer or publisher information and plate details with the actual copy. If evidence does not establish a printing method or artist’s involvement, request clarification before adopting a stronger description.

Reproduction publications can have collecting and study interest on their own terms. Describe the object accurately, then compare its edition, completeness and condition rather than forcing every work into the same category.

Browse Prints & Portfolios and Works on Paper. Continue with Signed, Inscribed and Facsimile Signatures.

Further reading: The Met: Lithograph.