Expert: Ben Mahmoud - 2/12/2008

Question
Dear Mr Mahmoud,

I would kindly like to ask if you are familiar with Chagall Estate prints.
I just bought what is supposed to be a Chagall Estate lithograph in an Art Liquidation Auction.

The title is “La Nuit Verte” (The Green Night), the original piece was produced in 1952, and I was told that my print is a limited edition. It shows a couple, the woman in a wedding dress, and a green goat on the sky.



This is the information that appears in the bottom margin:

In left inferior corner there is a number written in pencil:

10

__ /5K

50

I’m not sure if this is only 10 out of 50 or 5000? How should I interpret it?

It also has an embossed seal at the right of the number. It is really hard to read what the seal says, but it has 3 written lines in the middle of the circle and some other words on the top of it. It has 3 stars in the bottom of the seal.

Right in the center of the margin, there is embossed signature: “Marc Chagall.” Above the embossed signature it is written with pencil: Paris - 1952’

Finally, the name “La Nuit Verte” is written in pencil in the right corner.

The embossed seal has the “5K” again, written in pencil, what does this mean?



The print has the Chagall Signature and the year, 1952, on the bottom of the bride dress.

It also has, in very tiny letters, the following: “Copy Right Marc Chagall/ ADAGP Paris SACK Seoul 2000.”



I have found several Chagall Estate pieces on the internet, but I have not found this one and I want to know if is authentic and what is the appraisal cost. I should receive the COA in a couple of weeks but I wanted to do my own research.



Any comments will alleviate my curiosity and my concerns about my recent acquisition.



I appreciate your help,

Laura.


Answer
I would assume that since the work was designated an "estate print" that the piece was printed after Chagall's death.

It is difficult imagine a lithographic stone to up to 5,000 prints.  In the world of printmaking, the first number (as you know) designates the numerical place of the print in the edition.  However, there is no change in value from 1/5K to 5,000/5K.  It is assumed that all the prints in the edition are clones.  As a matter of practice, I have seen print houses number the prints after the printing, and the numbering had nothing to do with the numerical order in which it was printed.

The estate of Marc Chagall (whom I had the pleasure of meeting at one time) would, no doubt, contain many litho stones and etching plates.  These would have been sent to a printing house where expert printers would print the editions. I know one print house in Chicago that prints from estates of artists.  They usually claim a few prints of the edition as payment.

I assume, since you mentioned a green goat, that the print has more than one color.  If so, then there had to be a litho stone for each color.  That would have made it more difficult to print.  

In recent times, lithographs could be made without using the traditional litho stone. They could have been executed by the artist on metal plates.  The effect is the same, and there is no difference in the value of the works.

If the work was executed by Chagall on a metal plate, it might be that there could have been 5,000 in the edition, but, still, I cannot imagine the image not breaking down in the course of making so many prints.

There is a way to determine whether the print came from metal plates or stones.  You probably would have to remove the work from the frame.  Then examine very carefully the margin of the print image for an embossement.  If you can see a embossing, then the print was printed from a stone.  The printing process from a stone, usually leaves the edges of the stone embossed in the paper.  The metal prints do not leave any embossing.  Now, if the work was done on a stone, I can say that the image would not hold up to 5,000 prints.  This occurs to me:  the print house has a lithograph by Chagall.  It makes a master print from the lithograph.  As the image begins to break down during printing, a new plate would be created from the master plate.  Of course, this is just conjecture on my part.

I am assuming that the signature of Chagall was in the print itself. I have seen prints by Chagall where he put his signature in the image.  

It is traditional that the artist would write their signature and date  below the left side of the print in pencil.  Then, on the right side would be the numbering, also in pencil. Sometimes, the title of the work would be written below the image in the middle.  Of course, the printing of estate works would not have the artist's signature.

There are many "fake" prints in circulation, and the two artists whose work is most often faked are Salvador Dali and Marc Chagall.  However, because of the designations on your print, I would think it not a fake.

As you can imagine, the more prints in an edition, the lower the relative value of each print.  Estate prints are always much lower in value than the prints that were done under the artist's control, and possessing the artist's signature.  Hence, I would not think that the print has a significantly high price.  But since there is such a wide market for Chagall prints, the print is certainly not worthless.

I do not know what an appraisal would cost.  It varies from area to area.  If you live in a large city, you can get an idea of what the print is worth by visiting a reputable art gallery that deals in Chagall works.  You could approach the gallery with the proposition that you are interested in selling the work, and you are looking for the proper venue to do this.  The gallery dealer will be able to tell you the range of prices that is appropriate.  Of course, should you, then, place the work with the dealer, they would take a commission from the sale.  Each gallery has its own policy about commissions.  However, I can tell you that most exhibiting artists pay a 50% commission on their gallery sales.

So, you can obtain the information you want from a gallery, but you certainly do not have to, then, place it with that gallery.

Again, if you live in or near a large city, you can contact your local museums.  Sometimes, they have a day when they do appraisals for the public.  I know that at one time the Art Institute in Chicago did this.

I will give my guess as to value of the print.  I would think that the print would be priced in the hundreds of dollars, rather than in the thousands of dollars.


I hope that I have been of some help to you.

Ben Mahmoud