Art is in the eye of the beholder. More frequently than not, it helps the collector if the artist’s name is very well known. The January 26, 2022 Prints & Multiples Showcase Auction by Heritage Auctions is an opportunity to purchase investment-grade artists at rather affordable prices. Because these are prints and lithographs, even signed and numbers, these are much more affordable and attainable for collectors who want to have one of their works on a wall.

Heritage’s “prints and multiples” are all generally signed and numbered pieces rather than being individual paintings that would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars (or more). The items would be considered as “investment grade” because the artists’ names are all established, and there are stated estimates for the pieces. These would also considered “investments” because each of the artists should still have demand for their works in the years and in the decades ahead.

Collectors Dashboard would warn its readers that no investment of any kind comes with guaranteed returns. In fact, many investments will lose value over time. Purchasing art comes with many hurdles that would hurt investing returns — huge bid/ask spreads, shipping costs, ease of damage, insurance, resale fees, and so on. Still, if you are a collector spending thousands of dollars to put a print on a wall it is going to feel like an investment whether you were hoping to make money or not.

Artists with names like Marc Chagall, Salvador Dali, Joan Miro, Pablo Picasso all have many fans and they all have collectability aspects. That’s certainly not investment advice, merely an observation in popular culture.

The art market in 2022 is dominated by familiar names and Heritage Auctions has positioned them in this auction to give 2022 a strong tone going forward. We have reviewed old names and new names in Heritage Auctions Prints & Multiples Showcase Auction.

There are just 77 pieces of art featured in the January 26, 2022 Prints & Multiples Showcase Auction. That is actually a small number of pieces for a large auction house, and that might bring a more focused bidding from a large pool of interested buyers. These are some of the artists: Alexander Calder, David Hockney, Marc Chagall, Salvador Dali, Joan Miro, Pablo Picasso (Images below all provided by Heritage Auctions) and more.

To the untrained eye the name Pablo Picasso transcends interests of collecting. Trophy art could be used to describe a singular piece of art like the Mona Lisa but also could be used to describe an artist that attracts the interest of collectors by name recognition only. Big names are in this auction and Collectors Dashboard looks forward to following along as the page views of art go from the hundreds to the thousands. We have featured works that have already seen bids and where those bids were already approaching the estimates made by Heritage.

Salvador Dali

Salvador Dali, Alice in Wonderland, 1969. 12 photolithographs and one engraving in colors on Mandeure paper 18-1/2 x 13 inches (47 x 33 cm) (sheet, each). Edition of 2500, signed in pencil on frontispiece with an estimate of $8,000.00 to $12,000.00 and a current bid of $8,250.00 after 13 bids.

Salvador Dali, The Mirror of Chivalry, from Historia de Don Quichotte de la Mancha, 1980. Etching and aquatint in colors on Arches paper 29-7/8 x 22-1/4 inches (75.9 x 56.5 cm) (sheet). Ed. 239/300 signed and numbered in pencil along the lower edge with an estimate of $800.00 to $1,200.00 and a current bid of $1,050.00 after 13 bids.

Pablo Picasso

Pablo Picasso, Carnaval, 1965. Linocut in colors on Arches paper 29-3/8 x 24-1/4 inches (74.6 x 61.6 cm) (sheet) Ed. 66/160 (there were also approximately 35 artist’s proofs) Signed and numbered in pencil along the lower edge with an estimate of $6,000.00 to $8,000.00 and a current bid of $3,100.00 after 2 bids.

Marc Chagall

Marc Chagall, Abraham and His Angels, from Bible, 1958. Etching with hand coloring on Arches paper 17-3/4 x 14 inches (45.1 x 35.6 cm) (sheet). Ed. 86/100 signed and numbered in pencil along the lower edge with an estimate of $1,000.00 to $1,500.00 and a current bid of $1,250.00 after 10 bids.

Marc Chagall, Carte de voeux pour aimé Maeght, Paris, 1960. Lithograph in colors on wove paper 11-1/4 x 14-1/4 inches (28.6 x 36.2 cm) (sheet) with an estimate of $1,000.00 to $1,500.00 and a current bid of $825.00 after 7 bids.

Joan Miro

Joan Miro, Young Artists, 1973. Lithograph in colors on wove paper 35-1/2 x 24-1/8 inches (90.2 x 61.3 cm) (sheet). Ed. 49/75. Signed and numbered in pencil along the lower edge with an estimate of $3,000.00 to $5,000.00 and a current bid of $1,700.00 after 3 bids.

David Hockney

David Hockney, Tree, 1968. Lithograph in colors on BFK Rives paper 25-3/4 x 19-3/4 inches (65.4 x 50.2 cm) (sheet). Ed. 75/95. Signed, numbered, and dated in pencil along the lower edge with an estimate of $2,000.00 to $3,000.00 and a current bid of $1,250.00 after 6 bids.

Alexander Calder

Alexander Calder, Untitled, circa 1975. Lithograph in colors on wove paper 19-5/8 x 12-3/4 inches (49.8 x 32.4 cm) (sheet). Ed. XXXI/L. Signed and numbered along lower edge with an estimate of $2,000.00 to $3,000.00 and a current bid of $1,250.00 after 4 bids.

But Wait, There’s More…

Some of the other artists with works up for grabs are James Rosenquist, Beverly Fishman, Tony Cragg, Math Bass and more. The full list of pieces is here.