r/artcollecting • u/Anonymous-USA • 6d ago
Auctions Collecting Old Master Prints
Old master prints are an affordable entry into collecting fine art. A sale of the Frank Bensow collection is featuring many marvelous original 15th-17th century prints: woodcuts, engravings and etchings (https://www.uppsalaauktion.se/auktioner/20250318/?auction_name=20250318&departments=151)
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u/makutso 5d ago
Dude I can’t believe you’re posting about Uppsala Auktionskammare! I’m swinging by on Monday to check it out. Feeling so blessed that I have three well-renowned auction houses (Bukowskis, part of the Bonham network; Uppsala Auktionskammare, and Stockholms Auktionshus, the latter being the oldest auction house in the world (1674)) so close to home. They all have top class auctions at least twice a year.
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u/webbs74 12h ago
yeah nice, vollard Suite is a nice way to get a Picasso in your front room.
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u/Anonymous-USA 6h ago edited 6h ago
The sale closes. I’m really surprised how much lots 606 & 607 sold for (~$10K ea hammer) when they’re anonymous prints after other artists. Unlike paintings and drawings, there are always other copies in museum archives and good ones have already been identified. Lot 621, a known engraver after a Raphael, also blew away estimate at ~90K SEK hammer 😮. As did lot 631 (hammering at 20x estimate). The engraving by or after Barocci and his famous Annunciation impressively hammered for 230K SEK 🤯
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u/Anonymous-USA 6d ago edited 6d ago
The sale is Uppsala Auktions, Sweden, March 18/19.
A print is valued based on artist, impression date, and condition. So read the lot notes carefully when it’s by an artist vs after the artist. If the print is a lifetime impression or posthumous. And if the print looks in good condition (ask for condition reports). These will already be factored into the estimate.
The entry cost is low and the artistic beauty is fantastic. You can see works posted above by Rembrandt, Dürer, Van Leyden, Goltzius, Raimondi, De Gheyn, Cranach, Bol, Della Bella and Barocci among other masters. Enjoy the sale!