Top Prints & Editions Sales 2023

Barnett Newman's 18 Cantos (1963-64), a rare complete set of eighteen colour lithographs, appeared at Christie's New York April auction, The Sale of the Century: An Important Corporate Collection of Prints and Multiples, Session I. The set sold for £1.7 million, setting an auction record for the artist and ranking among the top print sales of 2023.

Belgian artist Hergé was featured in a dedicated sale, The World of Hergé, Tintin’s Creator (Fine Art) at Artcurial Paris in February 2023. During the auction, Tintin en Amérique sold for £1.9 million, setting a new record for the artist and ranking among the top print sales of 2023.

This particular Birth of Venus (After Botticelli) by Warhol is a unique print that appeared at Sotheby's New York Contemporary Day Auction in 2023. As the star lot, the work sold for just over £2 million with fees, setting a record for the print.

Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai's Great Wave is a highly sought-after woodblock print, part of a series of 36 prints. This individual work sold at Christie's New York in March for £2.2 million, setting a record for the artist and ranking among the top print sales of 2023.

The complete set of Warhol's Marilyn Monroe screenprints was showcased in Sotheby's New York December sale, ROYÈRE X WARHOL: Art and Design from the Collections of Peter M. Brant and Stephanie Seymour. The set sold for £2.3 million with fees, a late appearance and sale in 2023 and ranking among the top-selling prints of the year.

The complete set of Warhol's Endangered Species appeared at Christie's New York Post-War & Contemporary Day sale in November 2023. As one of the top lots of the sale, it realised £2.3 million with fees, coming close to its auction record and ranking among the top print sales of 2023.

Russian painter and pioneer of abstraction Wassily Kandinsky's Murnau (1908) was featured at Ketterer Kunst in December 2023, where it sold for £3.3 million with fees.

Le Repas Frugal (1904) is one of Pablo Picasso's most renowned prints. Featured at Christie's New York 20th Century Evening Sale in May, the work sold for £3.7 million, making it a highlight of the sale and ranking among the top-selling prints of 2023.

Roy Lichtenstein's stainless steel editions are among the most coveted on the market. Girl In Mirror (1964) was featured at Phillips New York 20th Century & Contemporary Art Evening Sale in May, where it achieved £4.4 million, being edition 1/8 plus 2 APs and is the the number one top selling edition of 2023.

Explore the top ten print sales in the global market of H1 2024.