Slide 1
Several authorized impressions can belong to one artwork
An artist's print can be made as a group of authorised impressions. Several examples may belong to the work without one being merely a photograph of another.
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The printing matrix supplies a repeatable design, but each sheet is a physical impression. Describing that relationship differs from describing a reproduction made after an unrelated painting.
Slide 2
Edition numbers place a sheet within a stated group
A limited edition can be identified by numbers assigned to its impressions. The notation places a particular sheet within a stated group.
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Additional proof impressions may be recorded separately. The Met's record for a Frank Stella print lists the numbered edition alongside several proof categories, so one number need not describe every authorised sheet.
Slide 3
An artist’s proof is outside the main edition’s numbering
An artist's proof is an impression designated for the artist and excluded from the main edition's numbering. It may carry an AP or EA mark.
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The designation does not automatically mean an unfinished experiment. Working proofs and artist's proofs describe different roles, which should be checked against the work's documented production history.
Slide 4
A bon à tirer proof approves a printing standard
A bon à tirer proof establishes an approved standard for the printing of an edition. It provides a reference for the impressions that follow.
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The Met's Stella record separately identifies trial proofs and a right-to-print impression. Such documentation distinguishes experimentation from the approval used for production.
Slide 5
A changed printing surface creates a different state
A print’s state identifies a stage in its printing matrix: the surface that supplies the design. Adding or removing lines can produce a new state.
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Variation in inking alone does not necessarily create a new state. Edition, state and individual impression answer different questions about how a particular print relates to the rest.
Sources
- State
Getty
- Extracts, State I
Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Edition
Getty