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Glossary of Art Terms

To help you get a better understanding of various aspects of the art business, we have put together a glossary of Art Terms and their definitions which you might find helpful.

Artist's Proof
Artist proofs originally were hand picked by the artist during the printing process after the presses were re-inked. The images were usually of a higher color quality and much more vibrant and clear than those found later during the printing run. The artist was allocated about 10% of the total printing for his/her own use and these hand picked prints were signed and numbered differently than the regular edition. Today, with the quality of offset lithography being much better and more consistent, artist proofs do not usually afford the buyer any better quality print than those of a regular edition. Though the value as a collectable is greatly increased.

Autobiographical
An artwork is autobiographical when it tells details about the artist's life

Bust
A portrait or sculpture from the mid-torso or shoulders up

Certificate of Authenticity - COA
Certifies the authenticity of an individual piece in an edition

Etching
The "original" of each etching is a copper plate covered with a ‘ground’, a paint-like substance. The artist uses a needle tool to lightly draw the picture through the etching ground. When the drawing is complete the plate is immersed in an acid bath for a few hours to "etch" the lines. This means that the acid eats away at the copper that shows through the etching ground. When the copper has finished etching, the plate is then cleaned and all of the acid and ground is removed from the plate. Then inks are added to its surface and are worked into the needle drawing. Excess ink is then wiped off and paper is pressed onto the top of the plate. Because the ink remains only in the lines of the drawing a copy of the drawing appears on the paper and the image is ‘printed’.

Gicleé (gee-clay)
Giclee' - is a French term meaning "spraying of ink." Printing is directly from information obtained from the original painting, Iris Printers spray microscopic drops of color on to a fine art paper or canvas. Displaying the full color spectrum, these artworks have vibrant, brilliant colors and a velvety texture. This gives the finished product the look and texture of an original painting.

Image Size
The size of the work reproduced on a print, not the overall paper size.

Limited Edition Art Prints
When an artist decides to print a limited edition of a piece of original art, an edition size is set and only that number of prints will be made available to the buying public. For example, if a limited edition of 780 prints were going to be made of an original, there would be 780 copies plus 78 (10% of the addition) artist proofs made and inspected. All of the rejected prints plus negatives and printing plates are then destroyed. Thus, there would be a total of 858 prints available for sale throughout the entire world for that edition! This ensures that only those prints signed and numbered by the artist will be on the market for purchase and trading on the secondary market. The prints are made on top quality paper stock, usually 100% cotton rag paper that is acid free and of archival quality and only the highest quality permanent non-fading inks are used in the printing process. This provides the purchaser with the very finest and most permanent materials which, when mounted and framed correctly, will minimize the effects of deterioration from moisture, insects, acid migration, and light over a long period of time.

Lithograph
A lithograph is made by using the same principles as etching. Instead of the image being scraped away from a metal plate, the image is drawn onto a metal or stone slab with a greasy crayon. When the image is finished, water is spread over the surface and ink is applied. The lines of the greasy crayon attract the ink, whereas the wet areas repel it. Therefore, only the lines made by the crayon are visible.

Open Edition Art Print
A high quality print as above, Not signed by the artist and no limit is set as to the amount to be printed.

Matted Size
The overall size of the mat which contains a print or original, ready for a frame. Numbered A numbered print is designed to show the limit or size of a print edition. The number is generally placed over the size of the edition. For example 12/500, indicates that the print is number twelve out of an edition of 500. Lower numbers used to mean a sharper image, but with modern printing, the last print should be as sharp as the first "off the press".

Media
Media are the materials used to create a piece of art. The term "medium" is used when one material is used to create the artwork. If an artist uses more then one type of material then he or she is using mixed media. Artists can use more than just paint to create artwork…other media that artwork can be created from includes: - watercolour and acrylic paints - pencil crayons, charcoal, crayons, markers - paper, metal, wood, clay, sand, rocks - plastic, styrofoam, wire, glass.

Overall Print Size
The actual size of a limited edition print - the image plus the margins.

Publisher
The printer and marketing company producing and distributing limited edition prints. At this time I am self-published.

Remarque
A current practice of some artists is the addition of a small personalized drawing or symbol near his pencil signature in the lower margin. The practice is borrowed from Whister's famous "butterfly" which was added to personalize many of his graphics.

Signed Open Edition Art Print
Same as an Open Edition but signed by the artist and no limit is set as to the amount to be printed.

Signed and Numbered
Refers to an artist's signature (generally in pencil) and the numbering of the edition.

Sold Out Print
A print is considered sold out and on the secondary market when it is no longer available from the primary source of supply, i.e. the artist or the publisher who distributed the print even though the art dealer may have prints in stock.

Secondary Market
Value Guidelines that are established by those print owners who offer for sale prints they possess that are no longer available from the primary or dealer sources. The popularity of the artist, the rarity of the print, the interest of the consumer in owning the print all are factors that help determine the secondary market value of a limited edition print. These prints are a result of a very meticulous planning and labor of both the artist and the print.

This Simple Guide of Art Terminology was written by North By Nature - an eBay Store

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