Titled "Eva's Class". Initialed "J.N." and dated '93 in lower right. Numbered 12/16 in lower left. Framed. 

Condition: Stain on verso. 

Overall: 17 3/4 x 20 1/2 in. 

Sight: 9 x 11 1/2 in. 

#3546 . 

In printmaking, an edition is a number of prints struck from one plate, usually at the same time. This may be a limited edition, with a fixed number of impressions produced on the understanding that no further impressions (copies) will be produced later, or an open edition limited only by the number that can be sold or produced before the plate wears. Most modern artists produce only limited editions, normally signed by the artist in pencil, and numbered (as in 1, 2, 3… /100 or however many) to show the unique number of that impression and the total edition size. One of the main reasons for the development of printmaking was the desire of artists to make more money from their work by selling multiple copies. This also benefits artists in a larger market, as their work can be seen in more places than their local city or region and gather them significantly more followers. The production of multiple copies also tends to reduce production costs and market price when compared to a single or unique image. Until the 19th Century in the period of the Old Master prints the concept of an edition did not really apply to prints, unlike books. Prints were often run off as demand allowed, and often worn-out plates were reworked by the original artist or another, to produce a new state. The art market attempts to distinguish between “lifetime impressions” and “late impressions,” which were produced after the death of the artist. The aquatints of Francisco Goya, which are done in a technique that wears out quickly on the plate, were the first important prints to be published initially in limited editions, although they were neither signed nor numbered. The plates were used many times since Goya’s death, with each new edition showing a progressive and drastic decline in quality of the image, despite some rework. Prints by artists today may potentially retain their financial value as art because they are created by an artistic process rather than by a strictly mechanical one, and may become scarce because the number of multiples is limited. Artists may sometimes refer to a print as a “one-off,” meaning that the artist made a unique print with no reproductions of it from the original matrix, often not even a proof. In this category one finds monotypes, monoprints, collagraphs, altered prints with collage or chine colle additions, or even hand-colored prints.

Stain on verso.