Old Masters’ Original Prints for Auction in New York

A large selection of old master prints, followed by 19th and 20th century prints from the likes of Rembrandt and Dürer, with prices ranging from $1,000-$60,000 will be up for auction at Swann Galleries in New York on April 27.

Rembrandt van Rijn, The Flight into Egypt: Altered from Seghers, etching, engraving and drypoint, circa 1653. Courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries

NEW YORK—A large selection of old master prints, followed by 19th and 20th century prints from the likes of Rembrandt and Dürer, with prices ranging from $1,000-$60,000 will be up for auction at Swann Galleries in New York on April 27. The art will be on exhibit to the public from April 22-26.

Print Making

An old master print is an artwork created by a printing process within the Western tradition. The main techniques include woodcut, engraving and etching, although there are others, and are typically printed on paper.

“A print is a work of graphic art which has been conceived by the artist to be realized as an original work of art, rather than a copy of a work in another medium,” according to the International Fine Print Dealers Association.  “Prints are produced by drawing or carving an image onto a hard surface (known as the matrix) such as a wood block, metal plate, or stone. This surface is then inked and the image is transferred to paper by the application of pressure, thus creating an impression, or print. The printed image that results is the exact reverse of the image on the plate.”

The earliest prints were made in China in the 9th century, around the time that paper was invented. Later, contact between Asia and Europe facilitated the spread of this form of art-making, and by the 15th century printmaking had become popular all over Europe.

Auction Highlights

Of special note among the old masters’ prints on auction are works by Albrecht Dürer, including The Four Horsemen, a woodcut from The Apocalypse, dated 1498, in unusually good condition and valued at $20,000-$30,000; The Prodigal Son, an engraving dated around 1496, valued at $15,000-$20,000; and Virgin and Child Seated by the Wall, an engraving, dated 1514, valued at $15,000-$20,000.

“Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) was the pivotal figure of Late Gothic and High Renaissance German art. He remains… one of the supreme masters of printmaking. His engravings and woodcuts are a dazzling combination of observation, imagination, and technical virtuosity,” according to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.