Ad blocker detected: Our website is made possible by displaying online advertisements to our visitors. Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker on our website.
I had a returning customer in the other day. An artist of some ability who is now branching out into Giclee prints of her works. She bought in three prints each signed and annotated as AP's (Artists Proofs), but unnumbered. During the conversation she commented that there was a mark on one of the prints and could I see if it could be removed. It could as it happened. What was interesting was a comment she made about reprinting it if there I damaged it in the process. She also asked my opinion on what would be a reasonable quantity for a limited edition. I suggested 250-500.
It made me think about AP's and limited editions in this digital world and do they really mean anything? What I am also thinking is as there a question of any breech of the trade description act if an artist were to print, for example, 100 AP's given that they can attract a higher price. If they are clearly marked and sold as AP's who could argue otherwise? With a numbered edition at least you might get suspicious if you saw say 35/500 and 36/350 on the same image. And what is to say that a tiny variation in the image wouldn’t constitute another edition?
I am not suggesting for a moment the artist concerned would consider this, I think her reputation is worth far more than that but it did make made me think.
Generally a limited edition will be numbered in normal numerals e.g. 195/250 and artist proofs will be anotated AP and numbered in roman numerals e.g. AP XII/XXV. Don't think this is always followed though.
I believe the FATG say there should be no more than 10% of the edition as artists proofs. I would direct any customer to the FATG website for guidance.
Yes you can also have different editions on different continents ie a European edition and a US one.
I would suggest the edition number you suggested is way to high for the current climate. I am involved in some publishing and the highest we do is 75, 50 being the norm. Limited editions don't sell like they used to galleries want originals as the market is a wash with LE and they are not perceived to have much investment value by collectors unless you are Bob Dillon or Alexander Miller.
Artist's Proofs, as the name suggests are (supposedly) test copies that are done at the beginning of a print run so the artist can approve them. However, it has come to mean a few extra copies over and above the numbered edition. Sometimes they were done as part of the artist's payment, so they can sell them themselves - give them to friends - paper the bog with them - whatever. A bit of bunce in other words. But some publishers market them at a premium price as they are deemed to be a bit exclusive. Complete cobblers of course, but business is business....
As for ethics, I have known publishers simultaneously market and open edition with a limited edition of the same image. Just with slight variations to the format to make it 'legal'. This makes a mockery of the whole shooting match IMHO and actually damages customer confidence for the publishers who play it straight.
Then there are the 'Sunday Supplement' publishers who do limited editions of 50000 (only. ) Haven't seen any lately come to think. Wonder why?
The reason why AP traditionally were more valuable stems from the day of etchings when the block would deteriorate with subsequent pressings so the first runs were always the best hence why you collect low numbers of an edition and AP's. But with the advent of giclees and to a certain extent lithographs this was not the case.
Editions are also made between media ie paer editions and canvas editions though they should be the same edition just a certain number of one or the other.
