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Antiques! => Antique Questions Forum => Topic started by: greenacres on January 01, 2013, 04:12:31 PM
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I purchased 2 wood block prints in 2001. The prints are by Stephen Huneck. They are hand signed and dated. When I bought them the store merchant told me they were wood block prints. Anyway to my question. I was checking on them as to the value and I see the artist has died. They are still selling his work by lithograph. How would you know the difference. I bought them in Key West, Florida. Would a lithograph necessarily be signed and should I trust the merchant? There is a huge price difference.
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I have really like how this person explained it so that most people can understand....
Let me know what you think...
http://www.blakeovard.com/debate.html (http://www.blakeovard.com/debate.html)
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So, even if the artist does his own reproduction would he sign it in pencil. This is one of the small block prints. I know these are horrible pictures, but due to the lighting it was hard.
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Pencil is the most common way to sign works on paper !!
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I know mart, lol. My question does that make it an original wood block print or the artist's own lithograph reproduction..
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This might help: http://www.bjdecastro.com/art-blog/2005/08/how-to-tell-if-it-is-an-original-reproduction-or-print/.
If it's a print from a wood block, then you will have multiple layers of paint pressed on top of each other (one layer for each color, lightest to darkest). They are likely to overlap as the block is covered in one color, pressed on the paper, then carved more, covered in a different color, pressed, etc... until done [or at least that's the way I've done it in the past].
One good way to tell that it's an original block print, is if some of the colors are evident underneath each other, if the paint is thickest on the darkest parts, and/or the paper was slightly misaligned - check the edges of the figures with a magnifying glass to see if there are lines of paint of one color.
I like the suggestion from the article above to look for 'dots' from a reproduction company vs the paint that would come from a block print. I had never thought of that. Although, I have to admit, that if either the reproduction or block printing were done very well, it could be hard to tell without an appraiser.
Hope this helps!
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Thanks so much. Now I get it. Either way I love his work. I have a black lab and I saw it as perfect. ;D I'll check it with a magnifier and see if I can tell. Thank you for explaining block print verses repro.