Top 5 Reasons to Invest in Prints

Explore the top five reasons to invest in fine art prints and discover how collecting works by Picasso, Miró, Hockney, and Warhol can be both accessible and rewarding. At Hidden Gallery, we offer a curated selection of limited edition prints, lithographs, etchings, and screenprints, allowing collectors to own a piece of art history. With museum-quality craftsmanship and timeless appeal, prints are a perfect entry point for new collectors and a valuable addition to seasoned collections. Browse our collection and find your next art investment.
1. Accessibility

You may have thought that owning an artwork by Picasso would be beyond the limits of your purse strings. Think again. While unique paintings by the Modern Master fetch millions at auction – the record being a staggering £115 million – it is possible to get your hands on an original lithograph made by Picasso for 0.01% of this price.

Joan Miró is another printmaking virtuoso responsible for producing some of the most beautiful etchings and lithographs of the 20th century. A signed Miró lithograph can be purchased for £4,000 and is an original artwork and vital aspect of the artist’s oeuvre in the same way as one of his paintings – the record for which is £23 million.
2. Variety

Printmaking as a medium offers artists – and therefore buyers – a world of possibility. In Hidden’s collection, you will find a plethora of printmaking techniques from lithographs and etchings to screenprints and linocuts each with their own unique quality.

For lovers of all things Pop and colour, a Peter Blake screenprint might tick all the boxes, where an admirer of delicate mark making could opt for a fine Matisse etching.
3. Mastery

Printmaking techniques date back to the first century and many artists relish the opportunity to contribute to the medium’s rich history.

Some artists sought to work within the European tradition of printmaking, opting for Bavarian limestone plates and carbon black, arylide yellow, naphtol and quinacridone red inks to create painterly lithographs. Others tore up the rule book, advancing the medium through innovation. Notorious rebel Salvador Dalí dabbled with filling snail shells with printing ink, firing them at his printing plates with a gun. Warhol and Hockney both embraced technological advancements in their printmaking practices, using Xerox machines to create groundbreaking print editions.

Did You Know? David Hockney studied printmaking at the Royal College of Art initially because the department’s resources were free. This decision – largely made out of necessity – resulted in the development of one of the most innovative and accomplished printmakers since Pablo Picasso.
4. Demand

Prints and editions are in huge demand globally with well-chosen, rare editions offering buyers strong growth potential. Works by Picasso, Warhol, Haring and Hockney are consistently present in sales at auctions such as Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Bonhams, fetching high prices.

While the print market is characterised by its diversity and accessible price points, there are of course exceptional examples that achieve eye watering sums. Picasso’s etching Le repas frugal (1904) set the record price for any one print at auction, selling for £6,014,500 in March 2022 at Christie’s in London.

Did You Know? Demand for Bridget Riley’s works on paper has rocketed in recent years with early, career defining screenprints such as Firebird (1971) consistently selling for upwards of £50,000. In 2022, an impression of Firebird that was covered in dead spiders sold for twice its estimate at a sale in the Cotswolds, demonstrating the demand and importance of prints and editions.
5. Legacy

The prints and works on paper that we offer at Hidden enable our customers to purchase a piece of an artist’s legend for their own walls. By hanging these works at home, you become part of their story, and part of the great lineage of art collectors that have left their indelible mark on art history. Many of the works we sell are also held in international museum collections, so buyers can rest assured that they are in excellent company.
Looking for some inspiration? Browse our collections below...