Expert: Ben Mahmoud - 2/13/2008

Question
QUESTION: Hello Mr Mahmoud,

Are you familiar with the Vollard Suite?
I recently acquired a Picasso lithograph from the Vollard Suite. The print shows a draft of a woman seating on a chair, with her right hand on the face. The print measures 21 x 15 cms.
I am not sure whether or not this is part of the original prints produced in the 30’s or a later Estate print, but it has some particular features in the bottom margin:

-One embossed seal that reads: Picasso.
-A second embossed seal with some inscription that it’s hard to read. This has 3 or 4 stars at the bottom of the seal.
-An embossed signature of Picasso.
-A printed signature of Picasso in the right inferior corner
-The following hand written inscription in the bottom: Paris XXXIV G.186 Collection of P. Picasso suite Vollard 1930’

Printed as part of the lithograph, in the right superior of the corner, and in a “mirror” format (horizontal flip- letters in backwards):

Paris
P MARS
XXXIV


I wonder what kind of print is this and if there is any significant value. Any clue?

I read that Picasso did not sign many of the Vollard suite 250 prints on smaller format Montval paper. So, how do we know if an unsigned Vollard suite print is authentic?

I will receive the COA from the gallery in a couple of weeks but any comments will alleviate my curiosity and my concerns about my recent acquisition.

Thanks,
Laura.


ANSWER: In any case, congratulations on your purchase.

If you had an original from the Vollard Suite, the value would be in the range of about $3,000.

I have seen the Vollard Suite some years ago.  As you probably know, there are etchings and aquatints, as well as lithographs in the suite.

I think that all of the original prints were certainly signed in pencil, below the image, by Picasso.  If you are very quick, you can buy a book containing the suite on E-Bay.  This would be a handy reference.  Here is the URL for that page: http://search.ebay.com/vollard-suite_W0QQfclZ4QQfnuZ1QQfsooZ1QQfsopZ1

Now, to turn to your print:  I am assuming, because of the information you  provided, that this is a print from an estate.  When an artist dies and leaves lithography stones, they can be printed just as if the artist were alive.  And you can be sure that Picasso did not print the original.  It was probably sent to a master printer for the job.  So, all things being equal, the prints would be the same.  However, it is that signature that makes all of the difference.

I know that a great many prints have been struck from the Vollard Suite.  I, also, know that the etchings can be steel-faced to prevent them from breaking down too soon in the printing process.  I do not know how a lithograph can have its life extended.  My guess is that a master print is made from the original litho stone.  Then this is transferred to another stone, and printing begins.  When this images begins to break down, the master is used to create another printing stone.  Of course, each of these steps caused some slight degradation in the image, but it would take an expert to see that degradation.  And keep in mind that what I have just written is conjecture.  I do know that one cannot print thousands of images from an original litho stone.

The characters in the upper corner of the print is in Picasso's own hand, writing on the litho stone.  It is backwards, because he wrote it from left to right on the stone, and when printed it is reversed.  I think the "MARS" refers to the month of March.  "XXXIV" probably is the year the work was done.  This is very typical of Picasso.

Now, to the question concerned how to know if it is from the original edition.  To be definitive, this would take the work of an expert.  There are catalogs that I have seen that list the locations of all of the Vollard Suite!!  That could be consulted, if it could be found.  I saw this back in the seventies.  The other test would be a very careful and expert analysis of the paper.  That would be less definitive, but never-the-less convincing if the paper matched.  You might hold the paper up to a strong light to see if there are any watermarks in the paper.  That might be a clue to something.

Another way of trying to determine the authenticity of the work would be to know who sold it to you.  And where did they get it? If an art dealer was selling it, they would certainly know the value of the original, and while Picasso's prices have fallen in the last few years, it would still be very marketable.

There are, of course, dishonest art dealers.  And I have seen some of these sleazy galleries try to pawn off Chagalls, Dalis, Picassos, et. al. at the price of the original, when they were actually selling something else.

Some years ago I served as a board member of the Illinois Art Council  During that time, I managed to get the Council to lobby the legislature for a law that would end this practice.  And it was enacted in Illinois.  Now, a print cannot be sold with the provenance and proper papers.

Another thing you might want to check.  Look carefully at the print with a raking light on it.  If the print was made by a litho stone, there would be some embossing in the paper.  The printing process is such that a great deal of pressure is exerted, thus leaving the mark of the stone on the paper.  There is no doubt that the Vollard Suite lithographs were executed by Picasso on a litho stone.  But, if subsequent prints were made from a master print, as I previously described, they probably would be from a lithographic plate.  This is how many modern lithos are made.  The litho plate leaves no embossing on the paper.

Sorry to be so long-winded, and I do hope that I have been of some help to you.

Ben Mahmoud


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: You have been very helpful !

I just wanted to ask some final questions:

-So you said that if this is an original the price would be $3,000. What would be the price of an estate print?
-On the eBay page you sent, there are some Vollard Suites with COA appraised at $23,500. Is that common?
-You also said “However, it is that signature that makes all of the difference.” Did you mean a hand/pencil signature? Or the printed signature that mine has?
-Should an estate print be numbered? Mine just says “G.186” and I don’t know what that means.
-How can I identify a watermark? Are they located at a specific place?
-I am sending a couple of pictures to your email in order to give you a better idea of how this print looks.



I ENORMEOUSLY appreciate your comments!!

Laura.


Answer
Laura, I found a particular (don't recall now which) print from the Vollard Suite priced at $3,000.  Others might have more demand, hence greater price.  On the other hand, the $23,500 might be for the entire suite.  And that is just a guess.

It is the penciled signature of the artist outside of the print area, usually at the bottom, that makes all the difference.  Should the signature be part of the print (signed on the plate or stone), that would not enhance the value.

I have no idea of what "G.186" means.  If there is no numbering on a print, that simply means that it is an unlimited edition.  It means that should they be selling a lot of a particular print, they can print some more. And that causes the value to be lower.

The watermark could be anywhere in the paper.  If you hold one of the U.S. bills up to the light, you can see the watermark.  But let me say that sometime excellent papers have no watermark.

I found a source that said that estate prints sold in a range of $4.00 to about $300.00.  They mentioned that the average price was $58.00

I have looked at the images you sent.  The Chagall looks like it is the 10th print of 50.  That's good.  I have no idea of what the "5K" means.   The embossing of Chagall's name is a clear give-away that this was printed after Chagall's death.  Now to the Picasso print:  does the signature look like it was printed or written?  Since there is a date of 1930, it may be that the XXXIV is the number of the print in the edition.  However, all of the Vollard prints that I have seen, and I have not seen them all, do not have all of that "stuff" on the bottom.

Go to this web page: http://www.shareholder.com/bid/downloads/news/20060914-211070.pdf

Here you will see an offering by Sotheby's Art Auction house.  They are impeccable.  There are a couple examples of prints from the Suite, and you will see how Picasso signed them.  I would assume that he signed them all in the same manner.

And here is another site that shows several prints from the Suite.

http://www.artnet.com/event/84012/pablo-picasso-selected-etchings-from-the-volla

Now that I see the Picasso, I am a bit leery.  The imagery that Picasso uses in this print is different from the style he uses in many of the other prints.  The style looks to me like it came from a later date.  But, as I said, I have not seen all of the prints.

You might be interested in some historical background regard the Vollard Suite.  Here is the URL for that page:

http://www.sapergalleries.com/PicassoVollardDetail217.html

Finally, go to the following site.  It has a number of Picasso "Estate" prints for sale with the prices.  If you read the descriptions of the various prints you get a feeling for what is appropriate.  Pay particular attention to the description of Chevalier Picador Dans L'Arene (Lithograph).  There is a clear and forthright description of the Picasso estate prints. Here's the URL

http://marketplaceadvisor.channeladvisor.com/StoreFrontProfiles/DeluxeSFItemDeta

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

Ben Mahmoud