Mark Rothko                               Gustav Klimt

                                           Wassily Kandinsky                           Paul Klee     

                                         Pablo Picasso                                      Joan Miro

                                                                         Jackson Pollock

Also:  Visit the Art Book Store To Buy Books About The Life and Work of
These and Other Artists

Modern Art Prints - Information on Print Types and Techniques  

The quality of art prints and posters has progressed dramatically in recent years, though it helps to understand a little about the differences between the main types of print that are available, not least because this has a bearing on the cost and value of the prints.  The prints I have included in my selections are varied, so that you have a choice, depending on your budget and the quality of the print you are looking for.

The main differentiation to make is between the various proper Fine Art Printing methods, which can be considered as  works of art in themselves, and the 'reproductions' which are based on photographing an original piece of art in order to produce prints of it.  The inexpensive art prints and posters in the stores fall into the latter category.  They are produced from a four colour printing process based on breaking down a photograph into a series of tiny dots of colour.

Modern Art Prints - Giglee Art Prints

Giclee Art Prints represent the 'top end' of the reporduction print market.  They are reproductions of original artworks, but use special techniques and materials to produce a print of much higher quality. Giclee is pronounced 'zhee-clay' and is a French term meaning to squirt or spray.  This is a reference to the printing process, which is akin to a high class and large scale inkjet printer.  Giclee printers use special inks which are very light-fast, provided they are kept out of sunlight, so will retain accurate and true colours for many years.  Giclee prints can be created on stretched canvas to enhance their similarity to the original paintings.

The printing process, materials and colour matching are all superior to normal art prints, and the image is generally better too as it is based on a powerful digital scan of the orignal, rather than a photograph.

Modern Art Prints - Fine Art Prints

Many artists work in printmaking as their main medium, where the print itself is the original artwork, rather than being a copy of anything else.  These printing processes include lithography, etching, drypoint, woodcut, silkscreen printing and monoprints.  With the exception of monoprints (which are unique single images) all the other processes involve producing a limited edition of original prints.

Modern Art Prints - Lithographs

Lithography involves the use of metal plates, where the artist works directly on each plate.  A separate plate is required for each colour, so up to 30 or 40 plates could be required for one image, if it is particularly complex.  You can tell the difference between a lithograph and a reproduction by inspecting the print through a magnifying glass.  A lithograph will not be made up of uniform dots of colour, which all standard reproductions are.

Modern Art Prints - Serigraphs or Silkscreen Prints

Serigraphy is another name for silkscreen printing.  The term comes from the Greek words 'seri' (silk) and 'graph' (write or draw).  Serigraphs are another kind of Fine Art Print, rather than a reproduction.  They are produced by adding layers of ink to a surface by squeezing it through a fine silk mesh.  Stencils are used on the silk screen to mask out the areas that are to remain free of ink.

Modern Art Prints - Limited Editions

Reproduction prints are generally open editions, meaning that the number of prints produced is dictated by the demand for them.  Limited Editions, on the other hand,  are 'limited' to a certain amount.  This  increases the uniqueness and therefore the value of the prints in the edition.  When the full edition has been printed, the  plates or screens will be destroyed to prevent more being produced.

Serious fine art collecctors would therefore consider serigraphs and lithographs, to be collectable, but obviously not standard art reproductions.  This kind of Fine Art Print is naturally more expensive than a reproduction, as it is inherently more costly to produce and more original.  However, it is still a  lot more affordable than a single original painting.