PICASSO AND THE PRINTS PICASSO has given his letters of nobility to the print, which he has practiced with happiness by giving it a place of predilection in his work. Picasso discovered engraving very early, which he considers as an art in its own right. He has his own press since 1907 and serious until his death at 91 years. His engraved work is considerable. She presents herself as a real diary and occupies a privileged place in her pictorial thought. Between 1899 and 1973, Picasso made more than 2,000 prints, all techniques combined. His insatiable curiosity and his taste for the challenge have given rise to a complex production, in which the artist does not hesitate to experiment with the various techniques of engraving, even to invent new ones. Passionate about innovation and formal freedom, he devotes himself to etching, aquatint, lithography, linocut, monotype, each time trying to renew the genre. He is accompanied in his research by Louis Fort then by Roger Lacourière for the soft cut, by Georges Aubert for wood engraving, by Edmond Desjobert then by Gaston Tutin and Jean Celestin at Fernand Mourlot for lithography, by Hidalgo Arnéra for linocut and, from 1955, by Jean Frélaut then by the brothers Aldo and Piero Crommelynck who set up a printing house in Mougins near Notre-Dame-de-Vie in 1963. PICASSO, associated with these famous craftsmen, gave a new breath to this field of creation which is translated in hundreds of tests, tests, plates of engraving, repentance and good-to-shoot, matrices and productions reconciled.
THE PRINTS MARKET A collection is often born with a multiple work, photograph or print. These affordable media are a low-risk way of rubbing against the art market. The field of print is however as vast as that of its prices, also subject to the effects of fashion and speculation of the moment. While it is true that the prices of contemporary prints have swelled in parallel with the rise in contemporary art prices, they have done so in a more measured way: when the prices of contemporary art took 80% over the decade ( 2000-2010), contemporary print prices still increased by 18%. This market is not only the "poor market" of the original and unique work, it is also a dynamic market that can be a source of great value. Contemporary creators, although adept at this means of dissemination and democratization that is printmaking, represent less than 7% of this market. The heart of the market is in fact at the rhythm of modern signatures (48.5% of the print market) and post-war (28.3%). The artists of this period have not only been the most prolific in history but they are stillthe most expensive in this medium: the millionaire auctions have also been signed for valuable works of Pablo Picasso, Edvard Munch and Jasper Johns . In recent years, while exceptional paintings are reaching unaffordable prices, more and more buyers are turning to prints. Auction houses, moreover, are increasingly incorporating prints into their most glamorous sales evenings. Indeed, collectors now understand that for some artists, this technique has counted as much as painting. Adam McCoy, chief print manager at Christie's New York, describes the market as robust. "In general, from one season to the next, the market is growing," he adds, before referring to the historical strength of the collection sales, or artist, unique. "Many collectors turn to prints because they cost only a fraction of what they would pay for a painting," says Mary Bartow, head of the sector at Sotheby's.
THE PICASSO MARKET
PICASSO is the most expensive artist in public sales and also the most expensive in print. Her engraving, "The Crying Woman, I", (one of 15 impressions of the 7th and final state) was auctioned over $ 5 million at Christie's in New York in November 2011. In 2015, Picasso was ranked n ° 1 of the artists on Artprice, with a price evolution of + 61% in 2015 and a turnover in sales of € 511,598,404 (all techniques). According to the Artprice price index, € 100 invested in a Picasso work in 2000 was worth € 267 (+ 167%) on average in May 2016 (according to international inflation rates compared, € 100 in 2000 accounted for 128 € in May 2016.)
The transactions around Picasso's works have enough to take off because the Picasso myth is more than ever a recipe. The numbers are astonishing: the market digested 2,875 works by the master in 2015 (a daily average of eight Picasso sold per day), for a total amount of more than $ 650m. Picasso returns to his position as the most sought-after artist in the world before American Warhol, leader of the market in 2014. The auction's prize is the $ 179.3m disbursed for a version of the painting "Women of Algiers", painted in 1955. It all started in 2004 with the sale of the "Boy the pipe" for $ 104m (Sotheby's New York May 5, 2004), then with "Nude, Green Leaves and Bust" (1932), sold $ 106m (Christie's New York the May 4, 2010). Its prices continue to increase, evidenced by an index up 177% since 2000, 95% over the last decade.
The prints represent the bonds, not the shares, of the Picasso market. They gain value over time. "You will not be getting a print at a profit 15 minutes after it was acquired," says Alexandra Schwartz, director of Pace Master Prints in New York. "On the other hand, if you make a good purchase and are patient, you will benefit. It goes without saying that Picasso's prints are not all affordable. The price of a Picasso print depends on the subject, the technique used, the format, the number of prints, its rarity and also its provenance. The preservation and freshness of an event also play a big part in its price. Price index (2000-2015)
Topic bookings of Picasso's prints having obtained the best results in public sales
The crying woman I, 1937 Drypoint, aquatint, etching and scraper (Bloch 1333, Baer 623) A very fine print of the seventh (final), from an edition of 15 Sold for 5,122,500 USD Premium Christie's New York: November 1, 2011 The frugal meal, 1904 Etching and scraper (Bloch 1, Baer 2) A very fine, early impression Sold for 1,945,250 GBP Premium (3,062,903 USD) Christie's London: June 20, 2012 The Minotauromachie, 1935 Etching and engraving with scraper (Bloch 288, Baer 573) A fine impression of the seventh (final) state Sold for 2,045,000 USD Premium Christie's New York: November 4, 2013 Bust of a woman after Cranach the Younger, 1958 Linocut printed from five blocks in colors (Bloch 859; Baer 1053) The colors fresh and vibrant From an edition of 50 Sold for 410,500 GBP Premium (670,423 USD) Christie's London: September 17, 2014 Another sold for 694,000 USD Premium Sotheby's New York: April 20, 2016 Bust of a woman with a hat, 1962-1963 Linocut in colors (Bloch 1072, Baer 1318) Fine print From an edition of 50 Sold for 334,100 GBP Premium (665,537 USD) Christie's London: September 19, 2007 Head of Madeleine, 1905 from The Saltimbanques Suite Etching and drypoint (Bloch 2, Baer 3) A rare impression From an edition of 27 or 29 Sold for 662,500 USD Sotheby's Premium New York: May 4, 1996 The woman at the window, 1953 Aquatint (Bloch 695, Baer 891) BAT aside from an edition of 50 Sold for 229,250 GBP Premium (357,923 USD) Sotheby's London: September 16, 2010 Still life under glass, 1962 (Still life under the lamp) Linocut in colors (Bloch 1101, Baer 1312) A fresh impression From an edition of 50 Sold for 280,000 CHF Hammer (330,851 USD) Galerie Kornfeld Bern: June 17, 2011 The woman with tambourine, 1939 (print in 1943) Aquatint and scraper (Bloch 310, Baer 646) In good condition Artist proof aside from the edition of 30 Sold for 321,500 USD Premium Sotheby's New York: May 1, 1998 Still life with the suspension, 1962 (Still life under the lamp) Linocut in colors (Bloch 1102, Baer 1313) A fresh impression From an edition of 50 Sold for 176,000 GBP Premium (307,101 USD) Christie's London: June 29, 1990