Original or print: how to tell, and why a venue should care

An original painting is a single object made by hand; a print is a photograph of one, reproduced on paper or canvas, usually in an open run. You can tell them apart in ten seconds: an original has raised paint you can see in raking light and feel at the edge, the colour changes as you move, and the back carries the stretcher, the hand-written title and number, and a certificate. A print is flat, uniform, and identical to the next one off the machine.

Three checks

The surface. Poured and layered acrylic stands off the canvas — on No. 034 the black loops sit a millimetre proud of the white, and on No. 014, White Washed the white is built in thin skins that catch light differently at each layer. A canvas print of the same image is perfectly smooth, or has a fake texture stamped evenly across it, blank areas included.

The edge. My canvases carry the paint round the 1.5-inch sides, with drips and overlaps where the pour ran off. A printed canvas has a mirrored or solid-colour wrap that stops neatly at the corner.

The back. Raw canvas, wooden stretcher bars, a hand-written catalogue number, sometimes a date. Prints have a barcode or nothing.

What the law says a seller has to tell you

New York is unusually clear on this. Its Arts and Cultural Affairs Law (Article 11) requires a dealer selling prints and multiples to disclose, in writing, the size of the edition and how, when and by whom the master and the copies were made — and, as art lawyer Judith Wallace has written for Artnet, the seller warrants the accuracy of those statements. Separately, section 13.01 makes a certificate of authenticity for an original an express warranty of what it states. So if you're buying from a New York seller and the paperwork is vague about whether the thing is an original, an edition, or a reproduction, that's your answer.

Why it matters for a venue

Guests notice. A bar that hangs prints reads as furnished; a bar that hangs originals reads as curated, and people ask about the work, which is the whole point of putting art on a wall people sit in front of. An original can also be sold off the wall — which is how the placement programme pays a venue — while a print can't. And an original is an asset with a certificate; a print is décor.

Why it matters at home

An original holds or gains value, can be insured as a named work, and is the only version. A print is fine for a hallway you walk past; it's a poor use of the wall you look at every evening. The gap in price is smaller than people expect: my 2ft squares are $1,200, which is what a large framed print from a design shop costs.

Editions and giclées

A limited edition print is still a print, numbered and signed, and priced somewhere between. I don't make them. Everything of mine in the catalogue is one of one; as other artists join, each listing says exactly what the piece is.

FAQ

Do you sell prints?

Not of my paintings. Every one of mine is an original, one of one. Other artists' listings say exactly what each piece is.

Can I get a copy of a sold painting?

No. Ask about a commission in the same palette and size instead.

How do I know an original is by the artist?

The catalogue number on the stretcher matches the signed certificate, and I'll confirm any number by email.

Sources

• Art Law on Consumer Protections for Purchasers of Prints and Multiples — Judith Wallace, Artnet News, 16 August 2015
• New York Arts and Cultural Affairs Law § 13.01 — Express warranties — New York State, via Justia

About the author. Charles Black is a self-taught painter working in acrylic on canvas from a two-room studio at the back of a warehouse in Queens, New York, and the founder of ABB Collective. He has been posting the work as @abstractbyblack since 2022 and has placed paintings in bars, offices and private homes around New York. Questions about anything here: charles.s.black@gmail.com.