Collecting: In Pursuit of Absolute Beauty
November 2007
All three master engravings are on view at the Blanton Museum of Art in Austin, Texas, through November 4. This exhibition, loaned from the Dürer Collection of the Foundation of Lower Saxony and the Konrad Liebmann Foundation in Germany, affords an excellent opportunity to see and study a wide variety of Dürer’s prints.
As for those who will not be satisfied with a mere museum visit and want to own and live with impressions of the master engravings, well, that is feasible, given money and patience. These prints, while certainly rare, are not unattainable, and while a Dürer print no longer costs the same as a pair of shoes, as it did at the time they were made, prices even at the high end are far lower than those for much contemporary, modern and Impressionist art.
According to dealer Armin Kunz of C. G. Boerner in New York, each engraved plate yielded from 50 to 100 top-quality impressions, after which the plate started to show signs of degradation. Of course, Dürer kept printing anyway, since he had to make a living, and after his death impressions of the master engravings or other major works, continued to be pulled from many of his plates, up until the early 17th century. Of the best-quality impressions, many are of course in public collections.
When such works do appear on the market, they can command prices ranging from $800,000 to nearly $1 million. Even what Kunz calls a "lousy" impression—one that is grayed out, damaged, trimmed into the image area—can still fetch $20,000 to $50,000 and a medium-grade impression will sell for more than $100,000.
"The sort of Dürer the collector wants, the beautiful, fresh, clean impression, with the right watermark and genuine, unbroken border-line, is not, and never has been, common," wrote Campbell Dodgson, a Dürer scholar and keeper of prints at the British Museum, in the Print-Collector’s Quarterly of April 1912. "The first-rate proofs are scarce, and getting scarcer every year; when they are to be had, they should be grasped and treasured." That is as true today as it was a century ago.
MORE INFORNATION
International Fine Print Dealers Association (IFPDA) ensures the highest standards and quality among fine print dealers. Additionally, there are many reputable independent dealers who are not members of the IFPDA. 212.674.6095. www.ifpda.org
IFPDA Print Fair, New York.
Nov. 1-4. 212.674.6095
As for those who will not be satisfied with a mere museum visit and want to own and live with impressions of the master engravings, well, that is feasible, given money and patience. These prints, while certainly rare, are not unattainable, and while a Dürer print no longer costs the same as a pair of shoes, as it did at the time they were made, prices even at the high end are far lower than those for much contemporary, modern and Impressionist art.
According to dealer Armin Kunz of C. G. Boerner in New York, each engraved plate yielded from 50 to 100 top-quality impressions, after which the plate started to show signs of degradation. Of course, Dürer kept printing anyway, since he had to make a living, and after his death impressions of the master engravings or other major works, continued to be pulled from many of his plates, up until the early 17th century. Of the best-quality impressions, many are of course in public collections.
When such works do appear on the market, they can command prices ranging from $800,000 to nearly $1 million. Even what Kunz calls a "lousy" impression—one that is grayed out, damaged, trimmed into the image area—can still fetch $20,000 to $50,000 and a medium-grade impression will sell for more than $100,000.
"The sort of Dürer the collector wants, the beautiful, fresh, clean impression, with the right watermark and genuine, unbroken border-line, is not, and never has been, common," wrote Campbell Dodgson, a Dürer scholar and keeper of prints at the British Museum, in the Print-Collector’s Quarterly of April 1912. "The first-rate proofs are scarce, and getting scarcer every year; when they are to be had, they should be grasped and treasured." That is as true today as it was a century ago.
MORE INFORNATION
International Fine Print Dealers Association (IFPDA) ensures the highest standards and quality among fine print dealers. Additionally, there are many reputable independent dealers who are not members of the IFPDA. 212.674.6095. www.ifpda.org
IFPDA Print Fair, New York.
Nov. 1-4. 212.674.6095
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