. . . and what you should know about them

The term "artists proofs" are both a little misleading and misunderstood.

Here is the idea behind the artists' proofs.

When you visit a photo studio and have a portrait made you are usually given proofs of several shots so that we can select the ones you like best.

In traditional print making methods every print is unique, each a little different from another.

When the artist is finished printing, he or she usually arrays the prints from best to least favorite. The first few, usually about 4 or 5, will be labeled as "artist's proof" indicating they are the very best of the "edition".

The rest are then numbered in sequence, the lower numbers indicating the more favored. Because the numbers indicate the artist's ranking of the prints, they can affect the value of a print.