$3,200Sale Price|20% Off
Hommage to Albrecht Durer: Venus, Mars, and Cupid Etching, Signed
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
REFERENCE: The Official Catalog of The Works of Salvador Dali by Albert Field page 66 #71-8 H
Etching
$3,200Sale Price|20% Off
Hommage a Albrecht Durer Venus & Cupid Etching, Surrealist, 1971
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
REFERENCE: The Official Catalog of The Works of Salvador Dali by Albert Field page 66 #71-8 D
Etching
$3,200Sale Price|20% Off
Hommage à Albrecht Dürer: Triomphe de Vénus Etching, Surrealist, 1971
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
REFERENCE: The Official Catalog of The Works of Salvador Dali by Albert Field page 66 #71-8 B
Etching
$5,200Sale Price|20% Off
Don Quixote & Sancho Panza Etching, Surrealist, Signed, 1971
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
REFERENCE: The Official Catalog of The Works of Salvador Dali by Albert Field page 64 #71-7 B
Etching
$15,600Sale Price|20% Off
The Woman in The Cosmos Dominating The World: Surrealist Lithograph, Signed
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
REFERENCE: The Official Catalog of The Works of Salvador Dali by Albert Field page 38 #68-3 J
Lithograph
The Trenches
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Miami, FL
The verso additionally bears the pencil signature of Albert Field, noted Dalí authority and author of The Official Catalog of the Graphic Works of Salvador Dalí.
Japan Paper
$4,360Sale Price|20% Off
Les Metamorphoses Erotiques
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Les Metamorphoses Erotiques MEDIUM: Etching SIGNED: Hand Signed by Salvador Dali PUBLISHER: Edita: a L'Erotitiade/Editions des trois continents EDIT...
Etching
$22,800Sale Price|20% Off
The Four Ages of Man Suite
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: The Four Ages of Man Suite Juventud Adolescencia Madurez Vejez MEDIUM: 4 Lithographs SIGNED: Each lithograph is Hand Signed PUBLISHER: Galerie Spect...
Lithograph
$6,240Sale Price|20% Off
Christ
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Christ MEDIUM: Etching SIGNED: Hand Signed EDITION NUMBER: 62/125 MEASUREMENTS: 25.5" x 19.75" YEAR: 1964 FRAMED: No CONDITION: Excellent RE...
Etching
$4,400Sale Price|20% Off
Imaginations & Objects of The Future Biological Garden
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
REFERENCE: The Official Catalog of The Works of Salvador Dali by Albert Field page 105 #75-11 J
Etching
$26,000Sale Price|20% Off
Changes in Great Masterpieces Persistence de la Memoire
Located in Hollywood, FL
Not examined outside of the frame REFERENCE: The Official Catalog of The Works of Salvador Dali by Albert Field page 175 # 74-2 A According to the Errata (as of 1/22/2018) from The...
Lithograph
$31,600Sale Price|20% Off
Symphony Bicyclette Lithograph, Surrealist, Signed, Edition 52/200
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Symphony Bicyclette MEDIUM: Lithograph SIGNED: Hand Signed by Salvador Dali EDITION NUMBER: 52/200 MEASUREMENTS: 35.25" x 25.5" YEAR: 1970 FRAMED:...
Lithograph
$19,600Sale Price|20% Off
Paysage Surrealiste Etching, Hand Signed, Surrealist , 1974
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Paysage Surrealiste MEDIUM: Etching SIGNED: Hand Signed by Salvador Dali EDITION NUMBER: XII/LXXV MEASUREMENTS: 24.75" x 25.12" YEAR: 1974 FRAMED:...
Etching
$3,996Sale Price|20% Off
Hommage a Picasso
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Hommage a Picasso MEDIUM: Etching SIGNED: Hand Signed by Salvador Dali PUBLISHER: Felicia, New York/EGI EDITION NUMBER: XLVI/CC MEASUREMENTS: Paper...
Etching
$6,000Sale Price|20% Off
The Three Graces
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: The Three Graces MEDIUM: Lithograph on Rives Paper SIGNED: Hand Signed PUBLISHER: Sydney Lucas, New York EDITION NUMBER: 169/300 MEASUREMENTS: 2...
Lithograph
$22,000Sale Price|20% Off
Flora Dalinae Viola Cogitans Etching, Surrealist, Signed, 7/200, 1968
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Flora Dalinae Viola Cogitans/Self Portrait Pansy MEDIUM: Etching SIGNED: Hand Signed EDITION NUMBER: 7/200 MEASUREMENTS: 29.9" x 22.3" YEAR: 1968 ...
Etching
$20,000Sale Price|20% Off
Flora Dalinae Lilium Musicum Etching, Surrealist, Signed, 1968, 26/200
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Flora Dalinae Lilium Musicum MEDIUM: Etching SIGNED: Hand Signed EDITION NUMBER: 26/200 MEASUREMENTS: 30.25" x 22" YEAR: 1968 FRAMED: No CONDITI...
Etching
$14,000Sale Price|20% Off
Conquest of Cosmos Frozen Watches of Space Time
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
CONDITION: Excellent REFERENCE: The Official Catalog of The Works of Salvador Dali by Albert Field page 98 #74-12 E INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING: We will take the piece out of the fra...
Etching
$4,400Sale Price|20% Off
FlorDali/Les Fruits Grapefruit
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
This piece has not been examined outside of the frame REFERENCE: The Official Catalog of The Works of Salvador Dali by Albert Field page 54 #69-11 I INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING_ we wil...
Etching
$9,600Sale Price|20% Off
The Mythology The Milky Way Etching, Surrealist, Hand Signed, 1963
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
The Archives, under the direction of Albert Field's successor, Frank Hunter, is able to provide an Authentication Service to owners of Dali prints and other Dali works.
Etching
$5,836Sale Price|20% Off
Kabuki Dancer Lithograph, Hand Signed, Surrealist, 1973
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Kabuki Dancer MEDIUM: Lithograph SIGNED: Hand Signed EDITION NUMBER: 79/190 MEASUREMENTS: 21" x 30" YEAR: 1973 CONDITION: Excellent REFERENCE: T...
Lithograph
$3,196Sale Price|20% Off
Fleurs Surrealiste Vanishing Face Lithograph, Hand Signed
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Fleurs Surrealiste Vanishing Face MEDIUM: Lithograph SIGNED: Hand Signed by Salvador Dali EDITION NUMBER: HC 24/65 MEASUREMENTS: 21" x 29.5" YEAR: ...
Lithograph
$4,400Sale Price|20% Off
Visions Surrealiste Coronation of Gala, Hand Signed Lithograph, 1976
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Visions Surrealiste Coronation of Gala MEDIUM: Lithograph SIGNED: Hand Signed by Salvador Dali EDITION NUMBER: EA MEASUREMENTS: 21.37" x 29.75" YEA...
Lithograph
$3,200Sale Price|20% Off
Conquest of Cosmos The Last Comer of The Last Planet
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
REFERENCE: The Official Catalog of The Works of Salvador Dali by Albert Field page 98 #74-12 G
Etching
$10,000Sale Price|20% Off
Licone et Gangaride Etching, Surrealist, Hand Signed, 1971
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Licone et Gangaride MEDIUM: Etching SIGNED: Hand Signed by Salvador Dali EDITION NUMBER: 10/175 MEASUREMENTS: 20" x 26" YEAR: 1971 FRAMED: No CON...
Etching
$12,000Sale Price|20% Off
La Petite Chouette 2 Etching, Surrealist, Hand Signed, 1968 Surrealist
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: La Petite Chouette 2 MEDIUM: Etching SIGNED: Hand Signed by Salvador Dali EDITION NUMBER: EA MEASUREMENTS: 12" x 18" YEAR: 1968 FRAMED: No CONDI...
Etching
$9,600Sale Price|20% Off
Plage de Cadaques Etching, Surrealist, Hand Signed, 1967
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Plage de Cadaques MEDIUM: Etching SIGNED: Hand Signed by Salvador Dali EDITION NUMBER: Epreuve d'Artiste MEASUREMENTS: 26" x 19.75" YEAR: 1967 FRA...
Etching
$4,200Sale Price|20% Off
Currier & Ives American Trotting Horses No. 2, Signed Lithograph
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Currier & Ives American Trotting Horses No. 2 MEDIUM: Lithograph + Collage SIGNED: Hand Signed PUBLISHER: Phyllis Lucas, New York EDITION NUMBE...
Lithograph
$7,200Sale Price|20% Off
Tauramachi Surrealist Bullfight Etching, Signed, 1970, Hand Signed
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
REFERENCE: The Official Catalog of The Works of Salvador Dali by Albert Field page 108 #75-9 F
Etching
$5,596Sale Price|20% Off
Conquest of Cosmos Saturnian Giraffe Etching Hand Signed Surrealist
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Conquest of Cosmos Saturnian Giraffe MEDIUM: Etching SIGNED: Hand Signed by Salvador Dali EDITION NUMBER: EA MEASUREMENTS: 27.5" x 38.5" YEAR: 1974...
Etching
$20,000Sale Price|20% Off
Don Quichotte et l'oursin Etching, Surrealist, Hand Signed, 1963
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Don Quichotte et l'oursin MEDIUM: Etching SIGNED: Hand Signed by Salvador Dali EDITION NUMBER: 4/145 MEASUREMENTS: 19" x 25.5" YEAR: 1963 FRAMED: ...
Etching
$4,640Sale Price|20% Off
Florals Water-Hybiscus Swan Etching, Surrealist, Signed, 1972, 62/350
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
REFERENCE: The Official Catalog of The Works of Salvador Dali by Albert Field page 168 #72-7 C
Etching
$2,800Sale Price|20% Off
Memories of Surrealism Crazy Crazy Crazy Minerv Surrealist Etching, Hand Signed
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
The Archives, under the direction of Albert Field's successor, Frank Hunter, is able to provide an Authentication Service to owners of Dali prints and other Dali works.
Etching
$3,196Sale Price|20% Off
Memories of Surrealism Surrealist Crutches Etching Japon Paper Signed 1971
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Memories of Surrealism Surrealist Crutches MEDIUM: Etching on Japon Paper SIGNED: Hand Signed by Salvador Dali EDITION NUMBER: A XXX/XL MEASUREMENTS...
Etching
$7,800Sale Price|20% Off
Les Amours de Cassandre Fairy Etching, Surrealist, Hand Signed
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Les Amours de Cassandre The Fairy MEDIUM: Etching SIGNED: Hand Signed by Salvador Dali PUBLISHER: Editions Argillet, Paris EDITION NUMBER:...
Etching
$3,196Sale Price|20% Off
Memories of Surrealism Surrealist King Etching Japon Paper Signed 1971
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Memories of Surrealism Surrealist King MEDIUM: Etching on Japon Paper SIGNED: Hand Signed by Salvador Dali EDITION NUMBER: A XXX/XL MEASUREMENTS: 29...
Etching
$3,200Sale Price|20% Off
Conquest of Cosmos The Blood of The Ying and Yang Surrealist
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Conquest of Cosmos The Blood of The Ying and Yang MEDIUM: Etching SIGNED: Hand Signed by Salvador Dali EDITION NUMBER: EA MEASUREMENTS: 27.5" x 38.5...
Etching
$11,600Sale Price|20% Off
Memories of Surrealism Ultra Surrealist Corpuscular Galutska Etching
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Memories of Surrealism Ultra Surrealist Corpuscular Galutska MEDIUM: Etching on Japon Paper SIGNED: Hand Signed by Salvador Dali EDITION NUMBER: A XX...
Etching
$11,600Sale Price|20% Off
Memories of Surrealism Surrealist Flower Girl Etching Signed 1971
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Memories of Surrealism Surrealist Flower Girl MEDIUM: Etching on Japon Paper SIGNED: Hand Signed by Salvador Dali EDITION NUMBER: A XXX/XL MEASUREME...
Etching
$3,196Sale Price|20% Off
Memories of Surrealism Angel of Dada Surrealism Japon Paper Signed 1971
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Memories of Surrealism Angel of Dada Surrealism MEDIUM: Etching on Japon Paper SIGNED: Hand Signed by Salvador Dali EDITION NUMBER: A XXX/XL MEASURE...
Etching
$3,196Sale Price|20% Off
Memories of Surrealism Dressed in The Nude in The Surrealist Fashion
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Memories of Surrealism Dressed in The Nude in The Surrealist Fashion MEDIUM: Etching on Japon Paper SIGNED: Hand Signed by Salvador Dali EDITION NUMB...
Etching
$4,400Sale Price|20% Off
Imaginations & Objects of The Future Liquid Tornado Bath Tub Surrealist
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
REFERENCE: The Official Catalog of The Works of Salvador Dali by Albert Field page 105 #75-11 B
Etching
$4,400Sale Price|20% Off
Imaginations & Objects of The Future Intra-Uterine Paradisiac Locomotion
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
REFERENCE: The Official Catalog of The Works of Salvador Dali by Albert Field page 105 #75-11 D
Etching
$4,400Sale Price|20% Off
Imaginations & Objects of The Future Breathing Pneumatic Armchair
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
REFERENCE: The Official Catalog of The Works of Salvador Dali by Albert Field page 105 #75-11 E
Etching
$4,400Sale Price|20% Off
Imaginations & Objects of The Future Liquid & Gaseous Television
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
REFERENCE: The Official Catalog of The Works of Salvador Dali by Albert Field page 105 #75-11 C
Etching
$4,400Sale Price|20% Off
Imaginations & Objects of The Future Cyclopean Make-Up
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
REFERENCE: The Official Catalog of The Works of Salvador Dali by Albert Field page 105 #75-11 F
Etching
$6,000Sale Price|20% Off
Currier & Ives Central Park Winter Lithograph, Signed, Surrealist
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Currier & Ives New York Central Park Winter MEDIUM: Lithograph + Collage SIGNED: Hand Signed PUBLISHER: Phyllis Lucas, New York EDITION NUMBER...
Lithograph
Chevalier Surrealiste (Jinete De Velasquez), Hand Signed Lithograph, 1980
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Aventura, FL
Referenced in "The Official Catalog of the Graphic works of Salvador Dali" by Albert Field, 1996 as Figure 80-7. Artwork is in excellent condition.
Paper, Lithograph
$5,880Sale Price|20% Off
Triumph of Love 2 Piece Suite With Original Portfolio Case
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Triumph of Love Le Triomphe Le Judgment MEDIUM: 2 Lithographs SIGNED: Each piece is Hand Signed by Salvador Dali EDITION NUMBER: 156/175 matched num...
Lithograph
$4,400Sale Price|20% Off
Imaginations & Objects of The Future Spectacles with Holograms & Computers
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
REFERENCE: The Official Catalog of The Works of Salvador Dali by Albert Field page 105 #75-11 A
Etching
$2,600Sale Price|20% Off
Faust Vignettes Mephisto Etching, Surrealist, Signed, 1969, Framed
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Faust Vignettes Mephisto (Le Cercle Magique) MEDIUM: Etching SIGNED: Hand Signed PUBLISHER: Editions Aegillet, Paris EDITION NUMBER: 66/150 MEAS...
Etching
$10,000Sale Price|20% Off
The Hippies The Woman With Garter Surrealist Etching, Hand Signed
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
REFERENCE: The Official Catalog of The Works of Salvador Dali by Albert Field page 56 #69-13 K
Etching
$14,000Sale Price|20% Off
Imaginations & Objects of The Future Cybernetic Lobster Telephone
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
The original paper portfolio sheet is included CONDITION: Excellent REFERENCE: The Official Catalog of The Works of Salvador Dali by Albert Field page 104 #75-11 I
Etching
$3,200Sale Price|20% Off
Shakespeare II Timon of Athens Etching, Surrealist, Hand Signed, 1971
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
AUTHENTICITY: This piece has been certified by The Salvador Dali Archives, Albert Field. The Salvador Dali Archives, located in New York, is a private repository of information abou...
Etching
$2,600Sale Price|20% Off
After 50 Years of Surrealism The Curse Conquered, Hand Signed Etching, 1974
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
REFERENCE: The Official Catalog of The Works of Salvador Dali by Albert Field page 94 #74-8 E
Etching
$5,600Sale Price|20% Off
Les Chantes de Maldoror (tongue) Carnal Transfiguration Etching Hand Signed
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
REFERENCE: The Official Catalog of The Works of Salvador Dali by Albert Field page 17 #34-2
Etching
$7,600Sale Price|20% Off
The Mythology Icarus Etching, Surrealist, Hand Signed, 1963
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: The Mythology Icarus MEDIUM: Etching SIGNED: Hand Signed by Salvador Dali PUBLISHER: Pierre Argillet, Paris MEASUREMENTS: 18" x 30" YEAR: 1963 FR...
Etching
$10,000Sale Price|20% Off
Le Sacre du Printemps Lithograph on Japon Paper, Surrealist, Hand Signed
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
REFERENCE: The Official Catalog of The Works of Salvador Dali by Albert Field page 149 #66-5
Lithograph
$3,200Sale Price|20% Off
Hamadryades Mimetiques Arborescentes Etching, Surrealist, Hand Signed
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
REFERENCE: The Official Catalog of The Works of Salvador Dali by Albert Field page 68 #71-11
Etching
$2,200Sale Price|20% Off
Faust Chevalier a Genou Etching, Surrealist, Hand Signed, 1969
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
REFERENCE: The Official Catalog of The Works of Salvador Dali by Albert Field page 50 #69-1 K
Etching
Instantly recognizable by his waxed, upturned mustache, the flamboyant Salvador Dalí is one of modern art’s most distinctive figures. He is also one of the icons of the 20th-century avant-garde Surrealist movement, whose dreamlike images, drawn from the depths of the unconscious, he deployed in paintings, sculptures, prints and fashion, as well as in film collaborations with Luis Buñuel and Alfred Hitchcock.
Dalí was born in Figueres, Catalonia, and even as a youngster, displayed the sensitivity, sharp perception and vivid imagination that would later define his artworks. In these, he conjured childhood memories and employed religious symbols and Freudian imagery like staircases, keys and dripping candles to create unexpected, often shocking pieces.
Dalí's use of hyperrealism in conveying Surrealist symbols and concepts that subvert accepted notions of reality is epitomized in what is perhaps his most recognizable painting, The Persistence of Memory (1931), in which he depicts the fluidity of time through melting clocks, their forms inspired by Camembert cheese melting in the sun. His artistic genius, eccentric personality and eternal quest for fame made him a global celebrity.
“Each morning when I awake, I experience again a supreme pleasure,” he once said. “That of being Salvador Dalí.”
Find original Salvador Dalí paintings, prints, sculptures and other works on 1stDibs.
In the wake of World War I’s ravaging of Europe, artists delved into the unconscious mind to confront and grapple with this reality. Poet and critic André Breton, a leader of the Surrealist movement who authored the 1924 Surrealist Manifesto, called this approach “a violent reaction against the impoverishment and sterility of thought processes that resulted from centuries of rationalism.” Surrealist art emerged in the 1920s with dreamlike and uncanny imagery guided by a variety of techniques such as automatic drawing, which can be likened to a stream of consciousness, to channel psychological experiences.
Although Surrealism was a groundbreaking approach for European art, its practitioners were inspired by Indigenous art and ancient mysticism for reenvisioning how sculptures, paintings, prints, performance art and more could respond to the unsettled world around them.
Surrealist artists were also informed by the Dada movement, which originated in 1916 Zurich and embraced absurdity over the logic that had propelled modernity into violence. Some of the Surrealists had witnessed this firsthand, such as Max Ernst, who served in the trenches during World War I, and Salvador Dalí, whose otherworldly paintings and other work responded to the dawning civil war in Spain.
Other key artists associated with the revolutionary art and literary movement included Man Ray, Joan Miró, René Magritte, Yves Tanguy, Frida Kahlo and Meret Oppenheim, all of whom had a distinct perspective on reimagining reality and freeing the unconscious mind from the conventions and restrictions of rational thought. Pablo Picasso showed some of his works in “La Peinture Surréaliste” — the first collective exhibition of Surrealist painting — which opened at Paris’s Galerie Pierre in November of 1925. (Although Magritte is best known as one of the visual Surrealist movement’s most talented practitioners, his famous 1943 painting, The Fifth Season, can be interpreted as a formal break from Surrealism.)
The outbreak of World War II led many in the movement to flee Europe for the Americas, further spreading Surrealism abroad. Generations of modern and contemporary artists were subsequently influenced by the richly symbolic and unearthly imagery of Surrealism, from Joseph Cornell to Arshile Gorky.
Find a collection of original Surrealist paintings, sculptures, prints and multiples and more art on 1stDibs.
Decorating with fine art prints — whether they’re figurative prints, abstract prints or another variety — has always been a practical way of bringing a space to life as well as bringing works by an artist you love into your home.
Pursued in the 1960s and ’70s, largely by Pop artists drawn to its associations with mass production, advertising, packaging and seriality, as well as those challenging the primacy of the Abstract Expressionist brushstroke, printmaking was embraced in the 1980s by painters and conceptual artists ranging from David Salle and Elizabeth Murray to Adrian Piper and Sherrie Levine.
Printmaking is the transfer of an image from one surface to another. An artist takes a material like stone, metal, wood or wax, carves, incises, draws or otherwise marks it with an image, inks or paints it and then transfers the image to a piece of paper or other material.
Fine art prints are frequently confused with their more commercial counterparts. After all, our closest connection to the printed image is through mass-produced newspapers, magazines and books, and many people don’t realize that even though prints are editions, they start with an original image created by an artist with the intent of reproducing it in a small batch. Fine art prints are created in strictly limited editions — 20 or 30 or maybe 50 — and are always based on an image created specifically to be made into an edition.
Many people think of revered Dutch artist Rembrandt as a painter but may not know that he was a printmaker as well. His prints have been preserved in time along with the work of other celebrated printmakers such as Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí and Andy Warhol. These fine art prints are still highly sought after by collectors.
“It’s another tool in the artist’s toolbox, just like painting or sculpture or anything else that an artist uses in the service of mark making or expressing him- or herself,” says International Fine Print Dealers Association (IFPDA) vice president Betsy Senior, of New York’s Betsy Senior Fine Art, Inc.
Because artist’s editions tend to be more affordable and available than his or her unique works, they’re more accessible and can be a great opportunity to bring a variety of colors, textures and shapes into a space.
For tight corners, select small fine art prints as opposed to the oversized bold piece you’ll hang as a focal point in the dining area. But be careful not to choose something that is too big for your space. And feel free to lean into it if need be — not every work needs picture-hanging hooks. Leaning a larger fine art print against the wall behind a bookcase can add a stylish installation-type dynamic to your living room. (Read more about how to arrange wall art here.)
Find fine art prints for sale on 1stDibs today.