Originals, limited editions, artist proofs: when it comes to prints, there are so many terms to know it can feel difficult to navigate this segment of the market.
In this article, we take a look at Artist Proofs, also commonly referred to as APs, to answer all your questions, from what they are to how they're made, and show you why you shouldinvest in them.
WHAT IS AN ARTIST PROOF?
A simple way of understanding an Artist Proof is to think of it as a finalised print that the artist approves to sign off the production of the Limited Edition. Artist Proofs are always made in connection with Limited Edition Prints.
At the start of the production process, artists request to review impressions of prints to see the current state of the image or of the printing plate, verify the quality of their work and, if needed, make corrections. The proof prints made at the early stages of production can be called test prints, trial proofs, state proofs or colour proofs, and are unfinished works the artist and printmaker work on.
Once the image is perfected and both the artist and the printmaker are fully satisfied with the result, a very limited number of impressions of the finished work is made before the production of the Limited Edition begins. Such prints are called Artist Proofs (or APs) and are identical in quality and nature to the prints that sit in the edition. Once an Artist Proof is made, the numbered edition is matched to that image and production of the editioned prints begins.
By convention, artists are not meant to sell Artist Proofs, and normally keep them for their private collection or personal use, or gift them to museums and galleries. However, many artists choose to sell their APs as a method for re-issuing editions that have sold out and that are high in demand.
HOW DO I RECOGNISE AN ARTIST PROOF?
Artist Proofs sit outside the numbered Limited Edition. They bear the signature AP, or Artist Proof. Usually, the number of Artist Proofs made is quite limited and sits between 10% and 15% of a limited edition series.
To mark the number of Artist Proofs made, artists may use fractions – for instance, AP 1/5 to indicate that the print is number 1 of a set of 5 Artist Proof prints – but they can also be unnumbered.
HOW ARE ARTIST PROOFS MADE? WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN ARTIST'S PROOF AND A LIMITED EDITION PRINT?
These days, Artist Proofs are made in exactly the same way as the prints that sit in the Limited Edition. This means that Artist Proofs are of identical quality and format to editioned prints.
However, historically this was not always the case. Back in the early days of printmaking, when printing technologies were less advanced, Artist Proof prints were of higher quality than editioned prints. This was because, as the production process went on, the printing plates would gradually wear out and the quality of the resulting prints would decrease.
Since they were produced before the Limited Edition, Artist Proof prints had more vibrant colours and a higher definition and were therefore considered better and more prestigious than editions.
With newer technologies, this no longer holds true, and editioned prints and APsare now all of the same quality.
ARTIST PROOFS VS LIMITED EDITION PRINTS ON THE MARKET: IS AN ARTIST PROOF MORE VALUABLE THAN A LIMITED EDITION PRINT?
While Artist Proofs are traditionally kept by most artists for their private collection or gifted to museums or galleries by the artists themselves, Artist Proofs have also been shown to fetch remarkably high prices when sold on the art market, especially compared to limited editions.
The top prices ever achieved by Artist Proofs were, unsurprisingly, for two versions ofBanksy’sGirl With Balloon. An AP ofGirl With Balloon (Gold)was sold at Sotheby’s London on 25 March 2021 for £1.1 million, while a year before, on 23 September 2020, Christie’s London soldGirl With Balloon (Purple)for £791,250, almost doubling the top price achieved by the limited edition of the same print, which sold at Christie’s London for £475,000 on 1 April 2021.
After Banksy, the performances of the othertwo top artists in the contemporary prints and multiples market,David HockneyandDamien Hirsthave followed similar trends. On 18 April 2019, Hockney’sAn Image of Celiasold at Christie’s New York for £175,000, exactly double the top price ever paid for the limited edition of the same print, which fetched £87,500 at Phillips London on 24 January 2019.
In the case of Hirst’s market, Artist Proofs have accounted for some of the highest prices his prints have ever achieved. For example, hisMental Escapologysold for £112,500 on 18 September 2019 at Christie’s London, while hisThe Dead (30 works)sold at Sotheby’s London for £102,500 on 20 September 2018.
WHAT MAKES AN ARTIST PROOF SO VALUABLE?
Artist Proofs tend to sell for more than Limited Edition prints even when the two are identical. With older prints, this was due to their better quality. While this historical legacy has translated into common misconceptions that APs are better and more prestigious than editioned prints even in the contemporary prints market, there are also other factors that have determined their overall performance in the contemporary prints and multiples market.
The first, and most important, is rarity. Unlike the large edition size of many portfolios, Artist Proofs are released on the market in very limited numbers, meaning that they are rare to find and are therefore in higher demand among art collectors. The rarity and exclusivity of an Artist Proof are for many an added bonus to owning a work by their favourite artist.
Another factor is determined by authorship, with many collectors veering towards APs because they feel the work is as close as you can get to an original. Particularly, if an artist is no longer alive, the value of Artist Proofs increases significantly. Since traditionally these prints remain in the hands of the artist for a long time before surfacing on the market, buying APs is seen as a way of owning a piece that belonged to the artist.
Artist Proofs can also sometimes be hand-signed by the artist and labelled AP or "Epreuve D'Artiste", which means Artist Proof in French, which explains why the value of some APs has skyrocketed at auction.
