What Does Limited Edition Mean?
Photo by Mike Dorner on Unsplash; A Banana Duct Taped to a Wall Sold for $120,000
If you’re someone that’s just getting into the art and looking to collect pieces of artwork you’ll often hear phrases such as Limited Edition or Open Edition, which can be a little confusing at the start. In this post I dive into what each of these mean so that you can understand why these are different and how they affect the value of an art piece.
Limited Edition Artwork:
Limited Edition as it sounds is a piece of work that is reproduced in limited quantity. That means for a specific piece of work an artist will only make a certain number of copies of the work and after that it will no longer be available for sale from the artist. For example a painting by an artist may just have an edition of just 1 but they may decide to do a limited edition print of that piece as a set of 50. Once those 50 sell the artist will no longer offer reproductions of that piece. Photographic prints are very similar in that for a specific image the artist will set a cap on how many reproductions can be made and sold.
Why Create Limited Editions?
Limited Editions allow artists to offer their work to collectors outside of the original piece of work at a more attainable price point. However, because the amount of reproductions are limited they still hold value as a collectors item depending on the artist and piece. Limited Editions can be as small as 2 and up to 1000 in some cases.
When you look at Limited Editions they should state how many reproductions are allowed. Each piece will also be numbered to let the buyer know which one they are looking at. This is what makes limited edition prints valuable to collectors, because if all prints have been sold then the only way to acquire that piece of work would be to purchase it on the secondary market. In addition, if the work is really in demand the specific print number that you have may also hold more value than later editions. This all depends on the value the art world has put on a piece based on the rarity and demand of that piece of work.
The Importance of Size and Quantity:
One important aspect to Limited Edition pieces is they are often specific to a print size and format. An artist therefore may offer a couple of Limited Edition prints at different sizes. So when you purchase a piece of work you may want to ask if there are any other Limited Editions of that particular piece. You may for example find that there is a larger print size offered. In general the larger the prints the smaller the run, so where a small print has a run up to 50 the larger version may just be 10 or less. As you would expect the larger, more limited run will often be the more expensive of the pieces. You can therefore decide for yourself which one interests you.
An artist may offer a few different sizes to create work that’s accessible to different collectors of their work and for different display purposes. Possibly the larger print is meant to be a statement piece that stands alone while a smaller print may work well as a collection with other pieces of work from the artist. It’s however important to look at how many limited edition runs that artist offers and if there are too many it may devalue the work. Lastly outside of Limited Editions an artist may offer an Open Edition version of their work which is important to know about when you start collecting artwork.
Open Editions:
Open editions are reproductions of a piece of art in a specific size and type that does not have a cap on how many prints can be made. For example, the prints I feature on my site generally have an open edition for the smallest size and these are not mounted or framed.
Artists like myself offer these as a way to allow a wider audience to enjoy their artwork and they can charge much less because they are not signed, they do not come framed or mounted in any special way, and do not have a cap on producing reproductions. Because there is no limit with Open Editions these are the lowest price works in general that an artist will sell.
What to Look for When Purchasing a Limited Edition Print:
When purchasing a Limited Edition print there are generally a few things to look out for on the artwork which is a clear indication what number that print is in the series and the artist's signature. These are there to provide evidence of it’s authenticity and what helps makes the piece unique and valuable in the art world.
Sometimes the artist adds these directly onto the print itself which you’ll see a lot in paintings or mixed media styles of work then photographic prints. However often with photographic prints these are added to the back of the piece or to an accompanying document known as The Certificate of Authenticity. This document will generally provide details of the piece, the title, the size, format, the version number, the artist's signature, and possibly some kind of stamp that’s unique to the artist to further represent the piece's authenticity. These are all valuable things to look for when buying any piece of work on the secondary market so that you know you’re getting something authentic vs a generic copy.
In Summary:
Diving into the art word and collecting work can be a little overwhelming with all the specific terms that may be used but knowing some of these basic terms and phrases will help you become a savvy art collector in no time!