Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-08-11

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WITT to this country and the
collection still has q great
many of her prints and draw
ings, plus a few pieces of her
very rare sculpture.
Sitting in the upstairs gall
lery at Roten's, it is possible
to review the entire history
Of the art in Europe and
America, and to do so with
the unframed prints on
tables before you, rather than
on the wall behind glass.
Selection Of Masters
Durer is present in sub
stantial quantity along with
other early Germans includ-
ing Altforfer, Beham, Bal
dung, Goltzius and o selec-
ton of Masters" and Mon
ogramists" never fully iden-
titled.
At the other end Of print
history aer a fewAexamples
from the contemporary show
at the Library Of Congress,
including the bright, bold
"Horsemen" Of Dean Meeker,
and the sober, rather chill
ing Resurrection" Of Gabor
Peterdi.
The field between these
two sets Of base-marks Is well
represented. Rembrandts are
there with figures emerging
from the etched darkness.
The elegant lines Of the
Italians are to be seen in
views by Tiepolo, Canaletto
and Piranesi. The unfor-
gettable series of etchings
and aquatintS by Goya re-
veal their grim humor and
the Autographs Of Daumier,
in vast quantity, are still the
socko-laugh riots they were
when printed a century and
more ago.
One advantage Of know
ing about an established
print house like Roten's is
that 1t puts you in touch
with the larger market. Prints
have become increasingly
popular with new collectors
recently and some remark
able transactions have taken
place. Some Of them would
seem to verge on fraud, but
in many cases the victim is
primarily the dupe of his
own self-regard or even Of
his own avarice. Successful
enough In some unrelated
line Of work, he imagines
that he can make q killing
in prints as easily as in sub
urban housing.
The PitfoIIs
The naive speculator sets
out to do this mainly
through the discovery Of
recognizable names in Off
beat places, such as second
hand furnishings stores or
even public auctions. He
spots, more or less typically,
a Goya or q Piranesi, or
possibly q Renoir or a
Monet. He is aware that all
these artists are big names
and he buys the prints for
what seems to be a song.
The price would be a bar
gain were the prints In
question what he thinks
they are. The fact is, though,
that several other classes
exist within the field of
original prints. There are.
for example, the reproduce
tive etchings long published
by the Louvre and other Of
the great museums Of Eu-
rope. These are clearly real
etchings and the names OF
real artists are clearly signed
to them and the stamp of
the Louvre is legitimately af-
fixed. The problem is that
the Louvre stamp simply
means that the etchings
have been authorized by the
museum as copies Of paint
ings In 1t. In America such
works-in a way comparable
TO the colored photographs
on sale at the National Gal
lery are sometimes taken
TO be original etchings by the
artists named and bought
as such at high prices.
Then there is the ire
STRIKE" a later impression OF
a print by an earlier print
maker. The actual plates Of
Goya and Piranesi, among
others, are still in existence
and are still printed. With
luck such recent impressions
will be more than satisfac-
tory to the ordinary person
looking for q great image.
For financial speculation. OF
course. these are ridiculous,
since the owner Of the
plates can run off q new
printing at any time, and
regularly does.