$5,175Sale Price|25% Off
Salvador Dali "The Old Faust"
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Boston, MA
Artist: Dali, Salvador Title: The Old Faust Series: Faust Date: 1969 Medium: drypoint Framed Dimensions: 22.5" x 18.5" Signature: Pencil signed Edition: 49/145 Literature: Al...
Drypoint
Salvador Dali - Knight & Death, from "Faust"
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
Salvador Dali - "Knight & Death" from Faust - Original Etching With embossed signature (from the standard book edition of 731) Dimensions: 38,5 x 28,5 cm 1969 References : Field 69-1...
Etching
Old Faust Etching by Salvador Dali, Surrealist, Signed, 1969
By Salvador Dalí
Located in OPOLE, PL
Salvador Dali (1904-1989) - Old Faust Etching from 1969.
Lithograph
Faust Vignettes Faust Lisant
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Faust Vignettes Faust Lisant MEDIUM: Etching SIGNED: Hand Signed PUBLISHER: Editions Argillet, Paris EDITION NUMBER: 24/100 MEASUREMENTS: 15" x 1...
Etching
Faust Chevalier a Genou
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Faust Chevalier a Genou MEDIUM: Etching SIGNED: Hand Signed EDITION NUMBER: 9/95 MEASUREMENTS: 15.3" x 11.4" YEAR: 1969 FRAMED: No CONDITION: Ex...
Etching
Faust Sorcieres au Bali
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Faust Sorceress au Bali MEDIUM: Etching SIGNED: Hand Signed PUBLISHER: Editions Aegillet, Paris EDITION NUMBER: 9/95 MEASUREMENTS: 15" x 11.2" pa...
Etching
Faust - Femme au Cochon Baubo
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Miami, FL
ABOUT THIS WORK: This is a work from Dali's Faust series. Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend.
Watercolor, Etching
Faust Vignettes Mephisto (Le Cercle Magique)
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
Sator, from: Faust (Walpurgis Night) - Spanish Surrealism
By Salvador Dalí
Located in London, GB
This original hand-coloured etching is hand signed in pencil by the artist "Dalí" at the lower right margin. It is also all hand numbered in pencil 116 from the edition of 145, with ...
Etching
Bird Women, from: Faust (Walpurgis Night) - Spanish Surrealism
By Salvador Dalí
Located in London, GB
This original hand-coloured etching is hand signed in pencil by the artist "Dalí" at the lower right margin. It is also all hand numbered in pencil 116 from the edition of 145, with ...
Etching
Faust - Limoges Porcelain Blue and Gold
By (after) Salvador Dali
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
Limoges", France, 1968. "Faust" drawn by Salvador Dalí. Print signed. Plate Signed in the back of the plate Dimensions: Diameter: 26 cm Edited by Salins Earthenware Sold in its ori...
Porcelain
Woman with Clown, from: Faust (Walpurgis Night) - Spanish Surrealism
By Salvador Dalí
Located in London, GB
This original hand-coloured etching is hand signed in pencil by the artist "Dalí" at the lower right margin. It is also all hand numbered in pencil from the edition of 145, with Roma...
Etching
Woman with Pig, from: Faust (Walpurgis Night) - Spanish Surrealism
By Salvador Dalí
Located in London, GB
This original hand-coloured etching is hand signed in pencil by the artist "Dalí" at the lower right margin. It is also all hand numbered in pencil from the edition of 145, with Roma...
Etching
Vieux Faust Etching, Surrealist Style, Signed, 1960s, Edition 105/145
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Roma, IT
Vieux Faust (Old Faust) is an artwork realized in 1968/69, from the Series "Faust" (La Nuit de Walpurgis). Etching, Drypoint, Watercolor and Roulette on Japon Paper, Hand signed an...
Watercolor, Paper, Drypoint, Etching
$3,666
Salvador Dali etching with drypoint, 1969, signed and numbered, edition of 145
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
Created in 1969, Femme au Cochon, from Faust (La Nuit de Walpurgis) (Field 69-1B; M&L 299k) belongs to Dalí’s celebrated Faust series, inspired by Goethe’s literary masterpiece and i...
Etching
Venus - Limoges Porcelain Blue and Gold
By (after) Salvador Dali
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
Limoges", France, 1968. "Silhouette de Faust" drawn by Salvador Dalí. Print signed. Plate Signed in the back of the plate Dimensions: Diameter: 26 cm Edited by Salins Earthenware S...
Porcelain
Salvador Dali - Sator from "Faust"
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
Salvador Dali - Sator, from "Faust" Original Etching Embossed signature From the edition of 731 Dimensions: 38,5 x 28,5 cm 1969 References : Field 69-1 K / Michler & Lopsinger 305 S...
Etching
Salvador Dali - Old Faust - Original Etching
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
Salvador Dali - Old Faust - from "Faust" Original Etching Embossed signature From the edition of 731 Dimensions: 38,5 x 28,5 cm 1969 References : Field 69-1 / Michler & Lopsinger 305
Etching
Salvador Dali - Baubo (Woman Riding a Sow), from Faust - Original Etching
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
Salvador Dali - Baubo (Woman Riding a Sow), from Faust Embossed signature (from the standard book edition of 731) Dimensions: 38,5 x 28,5 cm 1969 References : Field 69-1 B / Michler ...
Etching
Unavailable
H 15 in W 11.25 in
Salvador Dali Original Etching Faust Phiole Authentic Surreal Artwork SIGNED SBO
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Bloomington, MN
Salvador Dali Authentic Color Etching, Custom Framed and listed with the Submit Best Offer option Accepting Offers Now: Up for sale here we have an Extremely Rare, Hand Signed and N...
Etching
Unavailable
H 15 in W 11 in
The Night of Walpurgis Faust (Goethe) Series: Portrait of Marguerite
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Houston, TX
Modern Hand Colored Copper Etching On Arches Paper. 131/145. Gold Frame
Etching
Sold
H 15.16 in W 11.23 in
Salvador Dalí – Vieux Faust ( Old Faust ) – hand watercolored drypoint etching
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Varese, IT
hand watercolored drypoint etching on extremely fine Japanese paper, edited in 1968 limited edition, numbered in lower left corner 122/145 signed in pencil by artist in lower right c...
Paper, Watercolor, Drypoint, Etching
Vieux Faust (Old Faust)
By Salvador Dalí
Located in OPOLE, PL
Salvador Dali (1904-1989) - Vieux Faust (Old Faust) Drypoint etching with roulette from 1969.
Drypoint, Etching
Sold
H 15.16 in W 11.23 in D 0.04 in
Salvador Dali - Faust, Knight on Knees - Original HandSigned Etching
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
Original Handsigned Etching by Salvador Dali Title: Faust Knight on Knees Signed in pencil Dimensions: 38,5 x 28,5 cm Edition: EA 1969 References : Field 69-1 K / Michler & Lopsinger...
Etching
Faust Sator
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Faust Sator MEDIUM: Etching SIGNED: Hand Signed PUBLISHER: Editions Argillet, Paris EDITION NUMBER: 9/95 MEASUREMENTS: 11" x 15.4" YEAR: 1969 FR...
Etching
Faust Marguerite/Gretchen
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Faust Marguerite/Gretchen MEDIUM: Etching SIGNED: Hand Signed PUBLISHER: Editions Argillet, Paris EDITION NUMBER: 89/95 MEASUREMENTS: 11" x 14.75"...
Etching
Faust (Walpurgis Night)
By Salvador Dalí
Located in OPOLE, PL
Salvador Dali (1904-1989) - Faust (Walpurgis Night) Portfolio of 11 drypoint etchings with roulette from 1969.
Etching, Drypoint
Faust Tete de Veau
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Faust Tete de Veau MEDIUM: Etching SIGNED: Hand Signed PUBLISHER: Editions Argillet, Paris EDITION NUMBER: 9/145 MEASUREMENTS: 11" x 15.4" YEAR: ...
Etching
Faust Cavalier et la Mort
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Faust Cavalier et la Mort MEDIUM: Etching SIGNED: Hand Signed EDITION NUMBER: 44/95 MEASUREMENTS: 11.4" x 15.3" YEAR: 1969 FRAMED: Yes CONDITION...
Etching
Faust et Marguerite - Etching - 1960s
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Roma, IT
Etching on chamois-colored laid paper, realized in 1968/69. Plate from "Faust (La Nuit de Walpurgis), published by Argillet, Paris. Edition of 49/150, hand colored. Hand signed an...
Etching
Sorcière au balai - A Witch on a Broom
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Naples, Florida
Salvador Dali Spain 1904-1989. "Sorcière au balai" from the suite "Faust".
Lithograph, Paper
Salvador Dali - Knight & Death, from "Faust"
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
Salvador Dali - "Knight & Death" from Faust - Original Etching With embossed signature (from the standard book edition of 731) Dimensions: 38,5 x 28,5 cm 1969 References : Field 69-1...
Etching
Salvador Dali - Knight & Death, from "Faust"
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
Salvador Dali - "Knight & Death" from Faust - Original Etching With embossed signature (from the standard book edition of 731) Dimensions: 38,5 x 28,5 cm 1969 References : Field 69-1...
Etching
Sold
H 15.16 in W 11.23 in D 0.04 in
Salvador Dali - Flying Witch, from Faust - Original Etching
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
Salvador Dali - Flying Witch, from Faust - Original Etching With embossed signature (from standard book edition of 731) Dimensions: 38,5 x 28,5 cm 1969 References : Field 69-1 K / Mi...
Etching
Sold
H 14.97 in W 11.23 in D 0.04 in
Faust Lisant (Faust Reading) - Etching - 1960s
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Roma, IT
Etching on chamois-colored laid paper, realized by Dalì in 1968/69. Plate from "Faust (La Nuit de Walpurgis), published by Argillet, Paris.
Etching
Faust Sator
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Faust Sator MEDIUM: Etching SIGNED: Hand Signed PUBLISHER: Editions Argillet, Paris EDITION NUMBER: 68/145 MEASUREMENTS: 11" x 15.4" YEAR: 1969 ...
Etching
Vieux Faust - Etching - 1969
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Roma, IT
Etching and drypoint with roulette on Japanese paper from the Series "Faust" (Walpurgis Night). Image dimension 32x24 cm.
Etching
Vieux Faust - Etching - 1960s
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Roma, IT
Etching on chamois-colored laid paper, realized in 1968/69. Plate from "Faust (La Nuit de Walpurgis), published by Argillet, Paris. Edition of 49/150, hand colored. Hand signed an...
Etching
Faust Femme au Clown
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Faust Femme au Clown MEDIUM: Etching SIGNED: Hand Signed EDITION NUMBER: 68/145 MEASUREMENTS: 15.3" x 11.4" YEAR: 1969 FRAMED: No CONDITION: Exc...
Etching
Faust Femme au Clown
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Faust Femme au Clown MEDIUM: Etching SIGNED: Hand Signed by Salvador Dali PUBLISHER: Editions Aegillet, Paris EDITION NUMBER: 6/95 MEASUREMENTS: 1...
Etching
Sold
H 15 in W 11.25 in
Salvador Dali Original Faust Etching Mephisto Authentic HAND SIGNED Surreal Art
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Bloomington, MN
Salvador Dali Authentic Color Etching, Custom Framed and listed with the Submit Best Offer option Accepting Offers Now: Up for sale here we have an Extremely Rare, Hand Signed and ...
Etching
Faust "Golden Veal"
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Austin, TX
Alchemical signs, formed by Dali’s inverted signature, add an esoteric dimension to this exceptional interpretation of Goethe’s “Faust”.
Etching
Faust "The Bust"
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Austin, TX
Hand colored etching on Japan Paper Edition 40/150 Hand signed on lower right recto Published by Pierre Argillet
Etching
Sold
H 15 in W 11 in
Faust “The Bust”, Original Hand-colored Copper Etching (87/150)
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Austin, TX
Alchemical signs, formed by Dali’s inverted signature, add an esoteric dimension to this exceptional interpretation of Goethe’s “Faust”.
Copper
Sold
H 15 in W 11.25 in
Salvador Dali Etching Authentic Original Faust Silhouette Artwork HAND SIGNED
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Bloomington, MN
Salvador Dali Authentic Color Etching, Custom Framed and listed with the Submit Best Offer option Accepting Offers Now: Up for sale here we have an Extremely Rare, Hand Signed and ...
Etching
Sold
H 15 in W 11.25 in
Salvador Dali Original Color Etching HAND SIGNED Faust Lisant Surreal Artwork
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Bloomington, MN
Salvador Dali Authentic Color Etching, Professionally Custom Framed and listed with the Submit Best Offer option Accepting Offers Now: Up for sale here we have an Extremely Rare, H...
Etching
Old Faust
By Salvador Dalí
Located in San Francisco, CA
Bearing the Dalí signature blindstamp in the margin lower right.
Drypoint
Sold
H 15 in W 11.25 in
Salvador Dali Original Faust Etching Rare HAND SIGNED Color Art Wizard print
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Bloomington, MN
Salvador Dali Authentic Color Etching, Custom Framed and listed with the Submit Best Offer option Accepting Offers Now: Up for sale here we have an Extremely Rare, Hand Signed and ...
Etching
$12,074
H 30.12 in W 22.45 in D 0.04 in
Salvador Dali - Nude at the Window - Original Handsigned Lithograph
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
Salvador Dali - Nude at the Window - Original Handsigned Lithograph Dimensions: 76.5 x 57 cm 1970 Signed in pencil and numbered Edition : /CXX References : Field 70-8 Salvador Dali ...
Lithograph
Les Amours de Cassandre Complete Suite
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: Les Amours de Cassandre Complete Suite MEDIUM: 10 Etchings SIGNED: Each etching is Hand Signed PUBLISHER: Editions Argillet, Paris EDITION NUMBER:...
Etching
$195,000
H 25 in W 20.5 in
Pablo Picasso, "Tête de Femme", original linoleum cut, hand signed
By Pablo Picasso
Located in Chatsworth, CA
This piece is an original linoleum cut in color by Pablo Picasso, 1962. It is hand signed and numbered 40/50 from the edition of 50; there were also 35 artist's proofs. This piece is...
Linocut
Salvador Dali - Sator - Original Etching
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
Salvador Dali - Sator - Original Etching Stamp Signed Dimensions: 38,5 x 28,5 cm 1969 References : Field 69-1 / Michler & Lopsinger 305
Etching
$6,037
H 29.53 in W 22.05 in D 0.4 in
Salvador Dali - Plum - Original Hand-Signed Lithograph
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
Salvador Dali - Plum - Original Hand-Signed Lithograph 1969 Dimensions: P. 57 x 37 cm Sheet: 75 x 56 cm Edition of 340 + proofs Editor : Jean Schneider, Basel Handsigned, EA (Epreuv...
Lithograph
Salvador Dali - Argus - Original Etching
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
Salvador Dali - Argus - from "Mythologie" Original Etching Dimensions: 76 x 56 cm 1962 Editor: Pierre Argillet Edition: /150 Handsigned and numbered On Arches Paper References : Fiel...
Etching
Dali, Femme à tete de Roses (after)
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Salvador Dali (1904-1989) Title: Femme à tete de Roses Year: 2004 Medium: Lithograph on wove paper Size: 30.25 x 22 inches Condition: Excellent Inscription: Unsigned and unnu...
Lithograph
Piano surréaliste, Salvador Dali
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Salvador Dali (1904-1989) Title: Piano surréaliste Year: 1984 Medium: Bronze Edition: 350, plus proofs Size: 26.3 x 15.7 x 12 inches Condition: Excellent Inscription: Incised...
Bronze
Memories of Surrealism Surrealist King
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
$3,483
H 35.24 in W 25.6 in D 2.37 in
Salvador Dalí (1904-1989) - Colured lithograph on Arches paper - 1979
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Varese, IT
Colured lithograph on Arches paper, edited in 1979. Limited edition of 125 copies , numbered as G 67/125 in lower left corner. Hand-signed by artist in pencil in the lower right cor...
Paper, Lithograph
$1,600Sale Price|20% Off
H 18.5 in W 22.5 in
Salvador Dali "El Padre Perdonado (Galofre edition)"
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Boston, MA
Artist: Dali, Salvador Title: El Padre Perdonado (Galofre edition) Series: La Vida es Sueno Date: 1975 Medium: drypoint engraving in sanguine ink Unframed Dimensions: 11" x 15"...
Engraving, Drypoint
$5,224
H 26 in W 19.75 in D 0.1 in
Salvador Dali - Flung out like - Original Signed Engraving
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
Salvador Dali - Flung out like a Fag-end by the Big- - Original Signed Engraving Handsigned in pencil and Numbered Edition: F195/195 - Printer: Atelier Rigal. - Paper: Rives vellum ...
Etching
$2,902
H 16 in W 12 in D 0.1 in
Salvador Dali - The Winged Demon - Original Stamp-Signed Etching
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
Salvador Dali - The Winged Demon - Original Stamp-Signed Etching Stamp signed by Dali Edition of 294 copies. Paper : Arches vellum. Dimensions : 16x12". Catalogue Raisonné : Field...
Etching
Salvador Dalí -- Pisces from Signs of the Zodiac
By Salvador Dalí
Located in BRUCE, ACT
Salvador Dalí Pisces from Signs of the Zodiac, 1967 Lithograph Hand signed lower right Numbered 144/250 lower left Image size: 64 x 48 cm Sheet size: 73 x 52 cm Printed by Mourlot...
Lithograph
$12,000
H 35.25 in W 25.813 in D 1.25 in
Salvador Dalí Signed Lithographs - Retrospective Suite 1978 Complete Set of Four
By Salvador Dalí
Located in Dallas, TX
From the private collection of a Texas art connoisseur, this rare set comprises all four framed limited European edition lithographs from Salvador Dalí’s 1978 Retrospective Suite. Ea...
Lithograph
$15,093
H 23.63 in W 30.71 in D 2.37 in
Pablo Picasso ( 1881 – 1973 ) – hand-signed etching on BFK Rives paper - 1968
By Pablo Picasso
Located in Varese, IT
Groupe avec vieillard à la torche sur un âne amoureux, femme et arlequin (Ref: Bloch 1484 ) etching on Rives wove paper, Edited in 1968 Limited edition of 50 copies Current copy num...
Etching, Paper
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.