Those who thought that they could never afford a Henry Moore,
Bridget Riley, John Piper or even David Hockney, might be surprised
to discover that it is not such a far-fetched ambition, even on a
relatively modest disposable income, thanks to the world of the
Modern British print.
It encompasses work by artists from the 20th century, starting
with the Camden Town Group and the Bloomsbury Group, and moving on
through Vorticism and pre-War luminaries such as William Nicholson
and Erics Gill and Ravilious, to post-1945 art by the likes of
Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, John Piper, Terry Frost and Victor
Pasmore.
Original prints - where the artist has had a direct involvement
in the creation of the print - in their limited editions, are often
seen as the entry point into the market for new collectors of fine
art, where they can dip a toe in the water without taking the huge
plunge of investing large sums in masterworks like oil
paintings.
David Hockney, for example, whose paintings and photomontages
have soared in price in recent years, can still be found in limited
edition print form for a few hundred pounds. His print prices
spiked in the 1980s and have been largely soft ever since, but the
quality of his draughtsmanship, his mastery of so many media forms
and the sheer celebrity of his name mean there is likely to be
long-term interest in him even as a print maker.
Aquatints, woodcuts, etchings, mezzotints, engravings,
lithographs, silkscreens… there is an almost endless variety of
prints on which to focus, and it can all be very confusing. A
simple guide can be found in the back of some specialist auction
catalogues, which often list a glossary of print terms, and there
are a number of guides. Immersing oneself in a specific sector of
the print market can increase one's enjoyment and fascination and
could well pay dividends when setting out to buy.
There is also all the printmaking equipment, such as the
stationery, ink and tools, which appeal to the same highly
developed gene that stamp collectors share for detail. Collecting
these can go hand in hand with collecting the prints
themselves.
The great names in Modern British prints are often also
celebrated sculptors: Eric Gill, Henry Moore, Lynn Chadwick,
Barbara Hepworth and Elizabeth Frink all come to mind. As sculptors
they tend to be masters of the editioning process, bringing to bear
their sculptural craftsmanship, and this lends itself well to the
production of prints.
Big names also tend to enjoy a solid collecting base for their
other works, so their prints can prove popular too.
Other artists, such as Eric Ravilious and Victor Pasmore, are
sought after partially because they were masters of the printmaking
process, dedicating a great deal of their time to it. If an artist
has been closely involved in the process and used one of the more
talented printmakers, their work is usually of higher quality and
more desirable.
Above: a lithograph from Eric Ravilious's Submarine series,
'Commander looking through a periscope', which took £3300 at
Sworders of Stansted Mountfitchet in September 2012.
Some collectors seek a representative range of a single artist,
such as Terry Frost. Others may look for a cross-section of work by
a number of artists or within a particular school of art.
Composition, subject matter, colour, decorative appeal and other
artistic elements also tend to inform collecting.
Serious investors tend to play it safe when markets are more
volatile, seeking out typical works in the right medium by leading
names.
Pre-War but working very much in the same tradition, the dynamic
Vorticist print output of C.R.W. Nevinson, particularly his
drypoint etchings from the First World War trenches and his
immediate post-War New York period, can bring very high five-figure
prices, as can the stars of the Grosvenor School of Art, such as
Sybil Andrews and Cyril Power. Their multi-layered colour linocuts
from the early 1930s, with their strong design and kinetic energy,
dominated sales in 2011 and 2012.
The way a print is made can have a significant effect on its
value. For example, if what is known as the intaglio process is
used, such as with etchings, aquatints, mezzotints and engravings,
the print plate tends to wear out after about 100 impressions. This
means editions are more limited. Drypoints, another intaglio
process, also have limited runs because the softening of the image
caused by a burr effect either side of the line wears out after a
few prints. The more limited the edition, the better for values -
it's a matter of rarity, quality, supply and demand.
Anything with an edition of more than about 250 is unlikely to
be seen as rare.
Other factors that can affect value and desirability include
condition: folding, scuff marks, cropping of margins, scratches,
tears and creases can all create problems. Has the colour faded?
How white is the paper? All this needs to be considered.
Some collectors will seek out low numbers from an edition run,
but these are not necessarily as important as they do not reflect
the order in which the prints were made, just the order in which
the artist signed them. Artist's proofs, usually marked AP instead
of being numbered, are additional to the main run and are often
seen as less desirable.
Works should preferably be signed, dated and numbered. Evidence
that the print has been produced by a well-known printer or studio
can also add to its allure.
It is advisable to keep detailed records of purchases and
whether they appear in any book or catalogue. The more information
a collector has to hand, the easier it is to sell a work on and the
better chance they have of improving on the price paid.
It is also sensible to ensure, when setting a budget for buying,
that allowance is made for mounting and framing, if necessary, as
well as insurance. If buying at auction, in particular, collectors
may also have to add the Artist's Resale Right levy to the hammer
price and auctioneer's charges.
Typical works by leading artists, where there is a large gap
between prices for their prints and their masterworks, tend to
offer some of the best potential.
Take Barbara Hepworth, for instance. At their June 22, 2011
sale, auctioneers Hartley's of Ilkley in Yorkshire took a
multi-estimate £31,000 hammer for a 13 x 20in oil and pencil on
board painting, 'String Figure with Yellow', from 1960. Compare
that to the within-estimate £1150 taken by Penzance auction house
Lay's for an untitled signed screen print, numbered 48 from an
edition of 90, at their April 1, 2010 sale. While the latter piece
was less decorative and colourful, the huge price discrepancy
between the two may well leave room for the lesser piece to grow in
value.
Specialist dealer Dominic Kemp, who has written the catalogue
raisonné for Terry Frost, explains why Hepworth ticks all the boxes
for collectors.
"She's dead (having died dramatically in a fire at her studio
which is now a museum), she was made a Dame, she has Northern and
St Ives links, she was a leader in her field, she's abstract, her
sculpture prices are disproportionately high in comparison to her
prints and she has a solid collector base."
Above: 'Composition', by Barbara Hepworth, numbered II/XII,
thought to have been bought directly from the artist, took a
top-estimate £1200 when offered by Tennants of Leyburn on November
18, 2011.
Being a popular sculptor also helps Hepworth. "Her sculptures
are highly visible because they are in public places everywhere,
her images are instantly recognisable, she wasn't over-prolific
with her prints and although she hasn't technically got a catalogue
raisonné, there is a book that lists all her graphic work which is
pretty well good enough."
That last point is important. At some time or other, most
artists worth their salt will have a catalogue raisonné published
about them, which is a kind of collector's guide to every known
piece they ever produced. It means collectors can assess their
complete body of work at once, deciding what they like about them
and what is worth buying. It is often very clear which works are
likely to be most collectable.
Catalogues raisonnés are sometimes fairly expensive, but they
can provide a bit of a shortcut in building up knowledge.
As prices for major works by major names have risen strongly
over recent years, pricing some buyers out of the market,
collectors have started turning to the more accessible world of
prints, with the result that values for selected artists have also
strengthened.
Typical works by Terry Frost, using his mixed blocks of primary
colours, and Bridget Riley's black and white, optical illusion
prints can command healthy sums these days, although less typical
monochrome works by Frost have not performed so strongly.
Less formed, as yet, is the wider market for Young British
Artists headed by Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin. Now may well be the
time to look at less well-known YBA names, which are less of a
burden on the pocket, to see where their strengths lie.
Modern and Contemporary Prints, a practical guide to
collecting, by Phoebe Phillips and Tom Robb ISBN
1-85149-458-8.
Lund Humphries publish an excellent selection of books on Modern
British art and artists, including catalogues raisonés (visit www.ashgate.com)
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