Salvador Dali produced many lithographs; this one was done in 1969 and is entitled "Merville and His Sons Reunited."
A lithograph is a print made by an artist on a press. Some lithographs are produced by machines nowadays with photographic processes, on the contrary the first-hand lithograph was specious by represantation on a stone and printing from that equivalent stone. Because the specific affectionate of stone may be firm to come by, some artists advantage the duplicate system on a exclusive lithographic plate false of metal.
Instructions
1. Recognize how a lithograph is fabricated. A equitable lithograph is created from a portrayal imaginary directly onto a stone or a treated metal plate. The artist draws on the stone or plate with a grease pencil or crayon, which is then is treated with fat or oil mixed with gum arabic, which Testament originate the lines strained on the stone to attract the greasy printer's ink and the areas not pinched on to repel it. Then the stone or plate is treated with a turpentine or solvent that removes the picture. On the other hand a "ghost" double of the sketch has been bonded by the elementary treatment to the plate or stone. It is dampened with doctor, and one the blank areas can absorb the doctor at this aim, in that the surface has been changed to get inundate (the blank existence), or to repel it (the haggard world). The stone or plate is inked, and one shot the globe of the stone that has repelled the H2O takes the ink, leaving the "tense" effigy inked. The stone or plate is then assign on a printing press, a group of wet paper is laid on it, padded, and a board laid on top of the paper and the plate or stone with paper on it is settle under fine coercion while going down the press, so that the damp paper receives the ink left on the stone.
Provided there is to be extra than one colour, registration marks on the elementary drawing Testament be closely matched; for a moment colour, the paper holding the modern drawing Testament be placed on the stone or plate with the moment colour and bound terminated the press again.
2. Feel it, if you can. If the ink is raised, it is not a lithograph, it is an etching. If you are not allowed to touch it, Stare at it with a magnifying glass. If the ink is flat, it might be a lithograph. The nickname of the artist who produced the print sometimes has a bearing on the cost and so does the rationale the print was false. Many lithographs were produced in order to notify the people of how things looked before the camera was invented, and many of these series of illustrations are now quite valuable.
Stare at the paper the print is on. It should have a watermark, with a name, such as "Arches." If the paper is old, it will have stains or discolorations from exposure to light or water, unless it has been perfectly preserved in an airtight, watertight container, such as a well-sealed frame with mat. These discolorations are not undesirable and show that the print is old. If you want a perfect print, old or new, you do not want any discolorations, but these perfect prints will cost quite a bit more, if they exist.
3. Stare at the ink. Trial away the lithograph for sale with distress. It may be something else other than lithograph, much though the seller is calling it a lithograph. The appraisal or bill of a lithograph depends on the standard of the Craft profession, the excellence of the paper and how successfully the print was fictional.
4. Stare at the gray areas with a magnifying glass. If there are tiny dots, it is a contemporary reproduction of a print. The small dots are called "Benday dots," which are created with a mechanical photographic process that separates the ink in gray areas so that it will not saturate the paper. If the area is filled in, it is probably a lithograph, as the lithographic process (either with stone or metal plate) creates a rather smooth, all-over gray area that would only have natural irregularities from the surface.
5. Stare at the signature line. It should be signed with the name of an artist that can be researched. If the artist cannot be found, there is a probability that the name is made up, which would make the print suspect, as it may be mass-produced. The signature is usually done with a pencil.
Stare at the number. This is called an edition number. The first number is the unique number for that particular print, and no other print has that number. The first print off the press is usually the Artist's Proof (AP), so there may be no number, but the letters "AP." The second print off the press is usually 001. The second number after the slash is the number of prints made because edition in total. If it is a limited edition from the original stone or plate, it is usually 100. If this number is in the thousands, it is not a limited edition. These numbers are usually written in pencil.
There may be a title written in the center of the signature line. The number of the print is on the left, the signature of the artist is on the right, at the bottom of the print.
6. Follow the steps above, and if each item is verified (the paper, the ink, the artist's signature and the edition number), you may feel fairly confident you are looking at a real lithograph. It's value lies, as mentioned, in the quality of the drawing, the quality of the paper, the artist's reputation and the purpose of the illustration.
