The Different Print Types in Warhol’s Oeuvre

27th November 2014

The market value of a Andy Warhol print depends on many aspects — from the color and composition of a piece to its edition size and rarity. Warhol had his printers create multiple versions, picking and choosing specific editions to be used for various purposes. While Warhol would decide that one particular color combination seemed like a good choice for the editioned print, another print could be considered suitable as the artist’s personal copy for other reasons.

It is widely known that Warhol used his art as a form of payment from anyone to his lawyer to gifts for his friends and family. These particular prints came from the Artist Proof editions.

The trial proof print is especially notable, as it each given trial proof print is the only one with its particular color combination and/or composition. There can be no two trial proofs alike, since trial proof editions were only printed once.

Another type of print that resulted from this process of selection is the printer’s proof. They are similar to the artist’s proofs in that they were used as a form of payment, but the printer was the only recipient of that particular edition.

While any given work of art by Andy Warhol is a treasure to behold, the purpose of creation, edition size and color composition greatly influences the market value of a Warhol print. These factors are dictated by how each print is categorized. Some prints were created and reproduced hundreds of times, while others were only printed once. With this information, one not only can evaluate a Warhol print’s monetary value, but also shed light on the fascinating and multifaceted quality of the screenprinting process.

This article was written courtesy of Revolver Gallery, located at 9459 Charleville Blvd., Beverly Hills Ca 90212.