Beyond Connoisseurship:
Rethinking Prints from the Belle Épreuve (1875) to the Present

Modernism brought about radical transformations in print culture. Once relegated primarily to the field of image reproduction, the graphic arts were taken up by large numbers of artists who experimented with diverse forms of printmaking: from the deluxe belles épreuves of the etching revival to Jules Chéret’s mass-produced posters, Andy Warhol’s silkscreened canvases to Tracey Emin’s monoprints. Despite the prevalence of printmaking as a constant in artists’ practices, however, it is still often perceived as secondary to painting and sculpture and interpreted using traditional, connoisseurial approaches. As a result, prints seem fated to be seen as parallel to, rather than integrated within, the scholarship of modern and contemporary art.

This conference, which will coincide with the 2014 IFPDA Print Fair, seeks to present alternatives by highlighting the work of scholars who are engaging innovative methodologies to address printmaking (from ca. 1875 to the present) and connect it to broader theoretical trends within art history. 

Beyond Connoisseurship: Rethinking Prints from the Belle Épreuve (1875) to the Present will be held at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York on November 7, 2014 from 10 AM to 6 PM.  

The event is organized by Allison Rudnick and Britany Salsbury and sponsored by the Graduate Center’s Ph.D. Program in Art History and the International Fine Print Dealers Association (IFPDA).

Registration is not required, but is encouraged. For further information, please contact printconference2014 at gmail dot com.