Where can I get this picture?

[nitrofd]

We have a G.Harvey titled "Bull Run".we found it in Tennessee near Knoxville back in 2001 that was framed for $175.00.the price was too good to pass up so it is on my wall.

 

[godofredus]

You are right, framing can cost mucho dinero. However I have had good luck at resale shops (Salvation army et al) buy a frame and then having the print matted and framed professionally.

 

[diane]

Help me out here. If I was looking to buy a print from that site as a gift for someone,what is the difference between an "Unframed Signed & Numbered Paper Lithograph" and an "Unframed Artist Proof Paper Lithograph"? I'm guessing it would cost a pretty penny for a good frame too. And what the hell is a giclee?

The signed and numbered lithograph is a copy authorized by the artist, and the number is usually in fraction form in a corner - 300/1000 for example. The artist's proof paper lithograph is the impression of the print taken to see the quality of the copy - some of these are very valuable as they often show the work in progress. The artist may tweak his work or otherwise alter it after making one of these. I'm not entirely sure of this last one but I think that's what it is!

 

[diane]

You are right, framing can cost mucho dinero. However I have had good luck at resale shops (Salvation army et al) buy a frame and then having the print matted and framed professionally.

Yes! Thrift shops are our friends! My avatar is a lithograph by the artist and has a professionally made frame - sure worth a sight more than the ten bucks my buddy dropped on it at a hospice store. They use an appraiser, too, who evaluates their donations - guess he didn't like the subject matter!

 

[bdtex]

The artist's proof paper lithograph is the impression of the print taken to see the quality of the copy - some of these are very valuable as they often show the work in progress. The artist may tweak his work or otherwise alter it after making one of these.

I would think then that a buyer would not want to order one of those directly from the artist without seeing it first to know what he/she is getting. The artist's websites/online stores that I have visited don't seem to offer a pre-order view.

 

[bdtex]

The reason I'm asking these questions is that I'm thinking about ordering a lithograph from one of the artists named in this thread as a Christmas gift for my father. He's an on-and-off Civil War buff and he's difficult to shop for. He's done very well for himself financially and pretty much buys anything he really wants for himself. He has a second home out in the country in East Texas which would be a perfect place for him to hang the framed print.

 

[nitrofd]

G.Harvey is more known for his horse pictures.

 

[diane]

G.Harvey is more known for his horse pictures.

He does very well with Western themes. There's one I can't find of an Indian in a canoe on a lake - very good indeed!

 

[Frederick14Va]

The signed and numbered lithograph is a copy authorized by the artist, and the number is usually in fraction form in a corner - 300/1000 for example. The artist's proof paper lithograph is the impression of the print taken to see the quality of the copy - some of these are very valuable as they often show the work in progress. The artist may tweak his work or otherwise alter it after making one of these. I'm not entirely sure of this last one but I think that's what it is!

Seems many artists today tend to include an "Artist Proof" (more expensive) option for just about any print... Now days these also tend to imply one that might be printed on a higher quality paper.. may have been said to have been personally inspected or signed by the artist in a smaller limited number.. guess to further enhance the value...

One artist had conferred with me on specific details of uniforms, gear, arms that a given unit had at a specific time and place.... as to be displayed in the image... Passed along the research that I had... It was a limited commission run of only 500... there were only 10 Artist Proofs... After he was done... as appreciation of what I had researched and done for him he gave me Artist Proof #1.... I was pleasantly surprised...

 

[Patrick H]

The signed and numbered lithograph is a copy authorized by the artist, and the number is usually in fraction form in a corner - 300/1000 for example. The artist's proof paper lithograph is the impression of the print taken to see the quality of the copy - some of these are very valuable as they often show the work in progress. The artist may tweak his work or otherwise alter it after making one of these. I'm not entirely sure of this last one but I think that's what it is!

Diane has offered a good explanation, but I'll add some informative detail. The word "lithograph" refers to printing from a specially prepared flat stone. The image was drawn on the stone in a grease pencil and then acid-etched. Alternating rollers of water and grease-based printing ink were applied to the stone before each impression (print) was pulled. True runs of lithographs were usually short editions--maybe 50, for example. The fractional number refers to the individual print number within the edition. For example, the twelfth print pulled from an edition of 50 would be numbered "12 / 50". These are always numbered and signed in the margin by the artist. (If you see the artist's signature in the painting image, but not in the margin, that's called "stone signed" but it really means nothing. It's just that the artist's signature on the canvas was captured in the photograph or scan of the image.)

Occasionally, the artist would alter his original printing stone by adding lines or textures or even making a new stone with a new copy of the drawing (because the old stones wore down fairly rapidly). First impressions pulled after any of those circumstances would be artist's proofs.

These are misnomers now, because the modern editions of these reproduced paintings are printed with offset lithography. Stones aren't involved. Printing plates and rubber transfer blankets and mechanical presses are involved. The press operator might adjust the flow of the various colors of ink at first, but just until everything looks right to the artist. The individual impressions happen FAST. 5,000 prints could be made in an hour. The set-up copies are the true proofs. A certain overage will always be printed, just because the press operates really fast and because the number of set-up copies can vary. All of the overage can be signed by the artist and sold as proofs. Nowadays, there is really nothing whatsoever that makes these copies more valuable than the numbered edition. Sometimes the proofs are sold directly by the artist, whereas the numbered prints would be sold by a publisher. In that scenario, the proofs might be a little more valued by some, but there is NOTHING inherently more valuable about them.

That all applies to lithography.

Giclee is a spray technique, as has been explained. Think of it as a high class ink jet print. The technology is highly valued by artists because we don't have to print a full edition at a time, as we did with litho. For example, we could print one or two or five or fifty prints at our own discretion and as they sell. We don't have to invest in a few thousand up front. I do giclees of my own work. I publish very limited editions of up to about 25 copies. I might actually print only a dozen or so copies at a time. Sometimes fewer. Large format giclee printers with multiple ink heads can be expensive to operate and they're slow, too. Thus, the higher cost to the buyer.

Then there's digital printing, which artists don't typically use, but which is used all the time for brochures and posters and other pieces of COMMERCIAL art. You can think of digital printing as high class laser copying or printing--usually on a fairly large scale. The beauty of this technology is that you can print...say...50 full color posters and then be done. With an offset litho press, you'd have to commit to at least 250 - 500 copies of anything to make it a practical job and sometimes you just don't need 500 copies of a thing.

 

[bdtex]

Diane has offered a good explanation, but I'll add some informative detail. The word "lithograph" refers to printing from a specially prepared flat stone. The image was drawn on the stone in a grease pencil and then acid-etched. Alternating rollers of water and grease-based printing ink were applied to the stone before each impression (print) was pulled. True runs of lithographs were usually short editions--maybe 50, for example. The fractional number refers to the individual print number within the edition. For example, the twelfth print pulled from an edition of 50 would be numbered "12 / 50". These are always numbered and signed in the margin by the artist. (If you see the artist's signature in the painting image, but not in the margin, that's called "stone signed" but it really means nothing. It's just that the artist's signature on the canvas was captured in the photograph or scan of the image.)

Occasionally, the artist would alter his original printing stone by adding lines or textures or even making a new stone with a new copy of the drawing (because the old stones wore down fairly rapidly). First impressions pulled after any of those circumstances would be artist's proofs.

These are misnomers now, because the modern editions of these reproduced paintings are printed with offset lithography. Stones aren't involved. Printing plates and rubber transfer blankets and mechanical presses are involved. The press operator might adjust the flow of the various colors of ink at first, but just until everything looks right to the artist. The individual impressions happen FAST. 5,000 prints could be made in an hour. The set-up copies are the true proofs. A certain overage will always be printed, just because the press operates really fast and because the number of set-up copies can vary. All of the overage can be signed by the artist and sold as proofs. Nowadays, there is really nothing whatsoever that makes these copies more valuable than the numbered edition. Sometimes the proofs are sold directly by the artist, whereas the numbered prints would be sold by a publisher. In that scenario, the proofs might be a little more valued by some, but there is NOTHING inherently more valuable about them.

That all applies to lithography.

Giclee is a spray technique, as has been explained. Think of it as a high class ink jet print. The technology is highly valued by artists because we don't have to print a full edition at a time, as we did with litho. For example, we could print one or two or five or fifty prints at our own discretion and as they sell. We don't have to invest in a few thousand up front. I do giclees of my own work. I publish very limited editions of up to about 25 copies. I might actually print only a dozen or so copies at a time. Sometimes fewer. Large format giclee printers with multiple ink heads can be expensive to operate and they're slow, too. Thus, the higher cost to the buyer.

Then there's digital printing, which artists don't typically use, but which is used all the time for brochures and posters and other pieces of COMMERCIAL art. You can think of digital printing as high class laser copying or printing--usually on a fairly large scale. The beauty of this technology is that you can print...say...50 full color posters and then be done. With an offset litho press, you'd have to commit to at least 250 - 500 copies of anything to make it a practical job and sometimes you just don't need 500 copies of a thing.

Thank you and than everyone who has responded so far. I've bought some modern signed & numbered paper lithographs but that was in the late 80's-early 90's and I've become unfamiliar with the terminology and distinctions since then,not to mention new technology.

 

[nitrofd]

He does very well with Western themes. There's one I can't find of an Indian in a canoe on a lake - very good indeed!

I saw that print at a few auction sites but it was already sold.really nice print, it is from 1978 of an edition of 1000.i quess the people that have it do not want to part with it.

 

[Patrick H]

I saw that print at a few auction sites but it was already sold.really nice print, it is from 1978 of an edition of 1000.i quess the people that have it do not want to part with it.

I forgot to mention that the secondary print market is a capricious thing. Some of these prints are very popular and sell out quickly. Then, people who want them have to wait until the original owners die and their prints come up on the secondary market. Some prints from editions that are NOT sold out also find their way into the secondary art market. There is nothing wrong with any of this. I'm just adding a little detail and drama.

 

[nitrofd]

I saw that print at a few auction sites but it was already sold.really nice print, it is from 1978 of an edition of 1000.i quess the people that have it do not want to part with it.

The three that I saw that sold were in 2012 and 2014 , and they went for 425.00 and up.