Hi Bob, It's always tricky pricing art, and pretty much impossible without seeing the actual work in person, but here goes... in bits and pieces...
Your description of it as a "lithograph/etching" is confusing since lithography and etching are two very different techniques. I guess both ways of printing could be done on the same piece of paper, but that would be very odd, so if you could clarify what kind of print it is that would help in figuring out a reasonable price. If it's an etching, the image will probably be rather small, 8x10-ish or smaller, and the rectangle of the drawing will be recessed in the paper, and it would be rather expensive since etching is such a laborious process. Lithographs can be much bigger and the paper will be flat. If it's an "original" or "hand-pulled" lithograph then that is more expensive than one that is mass produced on huge commercial printing presses, which is what most "lithographs" are these days. A notation on the bottom in pencil with numbers like 1/75, or 80/200, indicate which number of print it is and the total number printed; it's written after the print is pulled off the plate and approved by the artist. Sometimes the notation will be AP for artist's proof; there's usually a few of those test run prints. I don't think they're any more valuable than one of the numbered prints, but I may be wrong about that. In theory, every print is equal since each has been approved by the artist. After the set of prints is done, the plates are destroyed (depending on the integrity of the artist; watch out for Salvador Dali prints; he signed blank sheets of paper). I don't think there's any such number notation for mass produced prints and they can run into the thousands (think posters on heavier paper). So, the smaller the number of prints the more expensive each piece will be. To make it even more complicated these days, some artists are doing digital printing on sophisticated copy machines, and the print you're wondering about may be something like that (giclie prints I think they're called). That's such new technology it's not certain those prints will last; worry is that the colors will fade, so any such print is not something to spend a huge amount of money on now. In general, pricing's based on the fame of the artist (the internet is great for finding out about that), how many pieces were printed (most important if they are hand-pulled; not very important otherwise), to some extent the size of the work, and what similar work by other artists is selling for. You can look on the internet for similar images and get an idea of the going price. Did you get one of the Joni prints from the Joni/Dylan tour? How does the print you're wondering about compare to that in size and quality? I think they were selling for $150 and from what I've seen anywhere from $75 to about $300 seems usual for a mass-produced print. The higher price often reflects the middle-man's mark-up. As far as the signatures go... in this case, I don't know if they add to the value of this particular piece of art, especially since they're on the back and to protect the print it needs to be framed under glass and so the signatures won't be seen. If they come through the image, they would even be detrimental. The signatures may be valuable as autographs separate from the art. I don't know anything about the autograph market. It would be interesting to know how that particular print came to have all those signatures on it. The bottom line with any piece of art is if you love it and can afford it, then buy it. Even with well-known artists it's not always a sure thing that the price will increase, so it's not usually helpful to plan on that. However, since it's Joni, unless it looks like that peanut portrait on the scavenger cd I saw recently, there's a good chance the print will become more valuable over time because there will always be some die-hard Joni fans around. Hope this helps. I'm curious now about this print. Have you seen it? And are you thinking to buy it? Debra Shea [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > Wonder if any of the art cono-sewers out there can help me estimate the worth of >this Joni item: > > It's a lithograph/etching portrait of Joni and is signed by the artist (Cynthia >Marsh) as well as signed (on the back) by: > > Joni > Joel Bernstein > Norman Seeff > Glen Christensen > > Any help would be appreciated. And no, this is not an item in MY possession! ;~) > > Bob
