The Art of Print: From Hogarth to Hockney

Prints have played a unique and important role in the history of art and image, and this engaging book explores the numerous ways artists have embraced printmaking over the course of three centuries.

William Hogarth, George Stubbs, William Blake, J.M.W. Turner, Pablo Picasso, Barbara Hepworth, Andy Warhol, Lucian Freud, Bridget Riley, Paula Rego, William Kentridge and Kara Walker are among the leading artists for whom printmaking has been an important and experimental part of their practice– yet printmaking remains a somewhat mysterious topic. Perhaps this is because original prints are often misunderstood as ‘reproductions’, or wrongly given a similar status to preparatory sketches and archival material. In fact, prints are finished artworks, often the result of highly considered creative experimentation with print processes. This book sheds light on the matter, with chapters structured around different types of printmaking, allowing each section to reveal the various ways artists have engaged with the different techniques.

In addition to complete reproductions of over 120 works, carefully selected details enable the reader to examine closely some of the remarkable visual effects seen in the prints. Each of the works illustrated has been selected to reflect the broad spectrum of techniques and purposes, which are explained in clear and concise terms. The featured artworks are among the highlights of Tate’s extensive but little-known print collection, a remarkable grouping no book has previously attempted to survey.

Elizabeth Jacklin is an art historian and curator. She was previously Assistant Curator at Tate Britain and is now Keeper of Art at Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums

• Exhibition Hogarth and Europe
• Dimensions 25.5 x 21 cm
• Material FSC certified paper and card
• ISBN 9781849767637
• Number of illustrations 120
• No of pages 240