Artists Proofs and Limited Edition Collections

nt years, fine art collectors have increasinglyMore commonly, once the edition is sold out,
focused on acquiring quality limited edition photothese numbered or un-numbered Artist Proofs
prints deriving from work carried out in theare sold for an end-of-edition price. Being
pre-digital era. As in all collectors editions, the valuecustomised or rare they are highly collectable
of the investment is in the fact that each imagedepending on the reputation of the photographer.
is available in set numbers, so that once theIn the pre-digital era, photographers used to
edition is sold out, then logically the value increasessupply prints, usually 10 x 8 prints known as
over time. In the case of sought-after"glossies" to newspapers. Record companies also
photographers, or sought-after iconic images suchproduced them by the 100s to give to fans and
as for example in the rock and pop music worldthe press. These prints surface from time to
of the 60's and 70's, this has proved to be antime, sometimes signed by the artists, in auction
interesting hunting-ground for the incidental andsales, but they are not artist proofs or editions. In
perennial art aficionados alikethe digital era prints are no longer required for
Additional value is to be found in securing one ofreproduction purposes and most digital images will
the limited numbers of artist proofs for anynever be seen as prints unless they are specially
particular edition.made for a friend, an exhibition or produced as an
What is an Artist or Printers Proof?edition.
When a photographer/ art-director/artist releasesJimi St. Pierre in collaboration with travel and
a new image as a limited edition print, test printshobbies author Penny Church writes for several
are made, often in different sizes or on differentUK travel and leisure companies including
types of paper before an edition is created.London-based who specialize in limited edition
These pre-edition prints are known as Artistphotos covering bands and artistes from each of
Proofs (AP) or in some cases, Printer's Proofsthe past 5 decades.
(PP). Sometimes an AP is deliberated i.e. for aReport this article
charity auction.This article is free for republishing
How many Astists Proofs are made?Source:
An AP is approximately 10% of an edition i.e. if anRepublish this article
edition is 50 there is likely to be 5 artist proofsAsk a Question About this Article
and so on. If an edition is created by a company>> How old is vektor hernan?
on behalf of an artist the company will usually give>> How can I hear He is Our Song. Scott
the artist a few APs as part of their royaltyWestly Brown
payment. The artist can then give them to>> What are the names of the singers in
friends or sell them themselves, usually in somethe dancing with the stars band?
customised way to distinguish them from the>> How do you approach an atheist and tell
edition.them about ...