How Prints can Maximize the Value of your Original

It catches many collectors off guard when an artist sells giclee prints of their originals or later asks to have their custom order scanned in order to create giclee prints. Many questions arise for the Collector.

For instance, what is a giclee print?
This is a relatively new technology that sprays ink onto paper to create high quality prints. The technology is so advanced that it can be difficult to tell them apart from the original.

Now I always enhance my Limited Edition giclees by hand- adding actual paint on top of the print so that each one becomes a unique piece. I also only issue runs of 50 artist-enhanced prints to maintain their uncommonness. I may issue more runs that are less expensive, made using the same technology but that have not been touched by the artist and are open-ended (printed on demand) decreasing their rarity. These prints are for those unconcerned with value- who simply like the image and have no desire to invest in fine art.

Another issue is that you may assume that because you own or commissioned the artwork that the copyright belongs to you.

“Copyright provides protection for an artist who has created an original work of art. Under the copyright law of 1976, any work created on or after January 1, 1978 is protected by common-law copyright as soon as it is completed in some tangible form. You are not even required to put the copyright symbol (a ‘c’ in a circle) on your work to protect it.”- Licensing Art 101, Third Edition 2007.

Even though the art might not exist without your involvement, it is still an original creation of the artist. You bought the physical painting, but the right to reproduce that image is always the property of the artist unless the artist sold you the copyright or authorized your use of it, in writing. Even after the artist dies, by law, the copyright is passed on to the artist’s heir, not the owner of the painting. If no heir is named after 50-70 years, then the copyright is up for grabs and anyone may reproduce the image regardless of who the painting physically belongs to.

So you may be wondering… if there are many copies of the same image floating about, at all different price ranges, who would spend top dollar for the original? Haven’t we all understood value to be found in rarity?

Yes and no.

I would like to help illustrate how prints actually increase a paintings’ notoriety. Go ahead and ask ten random people you see walking down the street to describe the Mona Lisa. See how many of them can describe for you what this painting looks like. Then ask them how many of them have actually been to Paris and stood face to face with the original painting. Probably only 2 out of those ten will have actually seen the original in person. Then how come they all seem to be confident that they know what this painting looks like? Reproductions! The Mona Lisa is by no means Leonardo Di Vinci’s greatest work but it has certainly been splashed to and fro throughout the world in every form of media imaginable. It is so widely reproduced, in fact, that you could easily pick up a poster of this million dollar painting for only $10. Does the fact that you could own the image for so little diminish the value of the original? Of course not! But why? Because no matter how many times the image is reproduced there is and can only ever be one original. Now imagine if that original was yours?

If a real estate agent’s golden phrase is “Location, Location, Location”, the golden phrase for an artist would be: “Exposure, Exposure, Exposure.”

How do artists achieve success? People have to see their work. They say that it can take a person 9 times of seeing the same thing before it becomes legitimized in their minds.
Press, exhibits, licensing, and advertising all play a role in this exposure but the exposure of greatest impact is seeing the purchased artwork in the museums, homes, buildings, and organizations, of those we respect and trust. Most artists (especially relatively young artists) couldn’t work fast enough to produce the sort of demand that constitutes significant exposure without the help of prints. Though prints, an artist is able to earn income on paintings that may already be sold, giving them means that allow them to spend more time painting (as opposed to having a part-time job etc.). Giclee prints are also a service to those who may be on a small budget, enabling them to own gorgeous works that they love but couldn’t afford or were already sold. Because these prints are easier to own, more people can and will buy them; actually doing the original a favor- the more people who own, know of, and appreciate the image: the greater demand there is for the original among those who can afford it, hence increasing its value.

You can actually help this process along by buying inexpensive prints (starting at $25.49) as thoughtful presents for family and friends. Art is always a welcome gift, and when they know that you own an original by the artist, it will make the present even more special. Just visit Imagekind.com and search for Stephanie Bolton. When you find her gallery you will see that there is a lot of fun to be had choosing what size, paper, finish, matting and framing you would like to select. If you are unsure what your friends would prefer, you can let them have the fun choosing by giving them a Imagekind gift card.