abstract - An emphasis on form rather than representation or content. Picasso, Braque, and Kandinsky were abstract artists.

acid-free - Papers with a pH near 7. Acid-free papers are less likely to discolor or deteriorate over time.

annotation – Words, diagrams, or arrows added to an image.

antique – Objects created in a prior age, typically over 100 years old.

appraisal – An evaluation of the monetary worth of an object.

aquatint – A printing process where a granulated resin or other substance allows an acid to create small dots on a metal plate. By repeating the process, the resulting print resembles a wash drawing or watercolor.

archival image – A very high quality image, generally created to allow for accurate future reproduction.

art – A man-made object intended to evoke an emotional response.

Art Deco - An art movement of the 1920s and 1930s which used geometric shapes and drastic colors in distorted and abstract ways.

artist's proof - One of a small group of prints from an edition for an artist's use (A/P), usually the first proofs of a limited edition. Artist's proofs are generally priced higher than other impressions of an edition. The French term is épreuve d'artiste (E.A.)

Art Nouveau – An art movement of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, which emphasized that attention to detail (such as leaves and flowers) was critical to an integrated work. Gustav Klimt's work is one example. Literally means “New Art.”

automatism – Creation of a work of art randomly or mechanically, rather than by conscious design. Joan Miró was an autonomatist painter.

avant-garde – Experimental, unorthodox work considered to be ahead of its time. Literally means “vanguard” or “marching in front of.”

Baroque - An art movement of the seventeenth century emphasizing motion and self-confidence.

burnisher - A tool with a hard rounded tip used for smoothing and polishing.

c. or ca. - Circa: about or approximately.

canvas - A heavy woven fabric made of flax or cotton used as a painting surface.

Certificate of Authenticity - A document intended to validate the origin of a piece. Certificates of Authenticity usually have data on the publisher, title, size, reproduction method and media, and the number of impressions in the edition. They may also have a statement about the work from the artist.

Chicano art and Chicana art – Mexican-American art.

coated paper - Paper smoothed with white clay or acrylic.

copyright – The exclusive right of an artist or other entity, such as a publisher, to use an artistic work. Copyrighted works are usually marked with the © symbol, the year, and the copyright holder.

Cubism – An art movement of the twentieth century in which the subject is broken down and abstracted. Picasso, Braque, and Matisse are examples.

diptych - A work consisting of two separate surfaces.

drypoint - An intaglio process where the inscribing needle leaves burrs on the plate, resulting in soft lines.

E.A. - épreuve d'artiste, French for “artist's proof.”

edition – A set of identical prints, usually produced by or under the supervision of the artist.

engraving – An intaglio method of directly cutting a design into a plate. The resulting impressions created by pressing paper on the inked plate are also called engravings.

épreuve d'artiste - French for artist's proof, abbreviated E.A.

estate signed - A piece produced with the approval of the estate of a deceased artist and signed with a facsimile of the artist's signature.

etching - An intaglio method using a needle to draw into a wax on a metal plate, which is then submerged in acid to eat away the unprotected metal. Impressions are created by pressing paper on the inked plate.

ethnic - Relating to sizable social groups sharing a common and distinctive racial, national, religious, linguistic, or cultural heritage.

Fauvism – An art movement of early twentieth century France led by Henri Matisse, using intense colors in an uncontrolled manner.

finish – The appearance of the surface of a painting, such as matte or glossy.

gallery - A place where art is shown or sold.

giclée – A print produced on a sophisticated inkjet printer, usually from a high-resolution digital image of the painting. The print is usually examined, corrected, and coated after printing. (pronounced gee-clay')

graffiti - A usually illegal work in a public place, such as a wall or bus, generally using spray paint. Graffiti's influence can be seen in the work of many contemporary artists, such as George Hunt, Justin Bua, and Keith Haring.

grotesque – An artistic style in which fantastic human or animal forms are combined and distorted.

Harlem Renaissance – An art movement of the mid- and late-1920s in New York's Harlem district, celebrating African-American traditions. Romare Bearden and Ernest Crichlow are members of the Harlem Renaissance.

hors de commerce – Prints marked by an artist for business use only (H/C). Literally “not for trade.”

impression - A print made from a block, plate, or stone.

Impressionism - An art movement and style started in 1860s France, showing informal scenes using differing natural lighting. Degas, Monet, and Renoir were Impressionist painters.

intaglio - Processes where impressions are made from an inked metal plate, such as etching and engraving.

kitsch – Popular art demonstrating pretentious poor taste. The contemporary artist most commonly described using this term is Thomas Kinkade.

lacquer – Clear, cellulose-based varnishes used as coatings.

landscape – Works showing sky and natural scenery, such as mountains, forests, and valleys. Also used to describe a horizontally-oriented rectangle; opposite of portrait.

limited edition - A numbered set of impressions, usually signed by the artist. (L/E)

linoleum cut or linocut – An intaglio method where linoleum is carved and impressions are made. linoleum block or plate used for making relief prints, similar to a woodcut, but easier to use due to the lack of grain. Picasso and Matisse made linocuts.

lithography (stone lithography) – A printing method where the artist draws with a greasy crayon on a plate, usually stone or metal. Ink sticks to the greased areas, allowing impressions to be made with a press. In color lithography plates are made for each color.

market value - The monetary equivalent of an art object, used to determine a price or insurance requirements. This is often obtained through an appraisal.

matte - A border placed around a picture. Also a term describing a non-reflective surface (not glossy).

medium - The material used to produce a work of art.

mezzotint or mezzoprint - An engraving process where burrs are created over the entire surface of a metal plate, then lighter tones are created using a burnisher. Sometimes a mixed mezzotint is produced using etching or engraving.

Modernism or modernism - An art movement starting in the late nineteenth century using abstractions to express ideas.

monoprint - One of a series of prints in which each has differences of color, design, or texture applied to an underlying common image.

monotype - A unique print made by painting on a smooth plate and then printing on paper.

motif - A consistent or recurrent conceptual element, usually a figure or design.

mount – Affixing an artwork to a secure support, such as framing a print. The owner should consider the importance of using archival mounting materials, such as acid-free mattes.

music – The art of arranging sounds in time, an important influence of many artists, including Romare Bearden, Alfred Gockel, George Hunt, and Frank Morrison.

nocturne - A picture of a night scene.

o/c – Oil on canvas

offset printing or offset lithography - The process in which an image on a plate is transferred to a rubber cylinder then to paper. The most common printing method used today.

oil paint - Paint made with pigments mixed with oil. Used by most artists since the Renaissance.

old master – A distinguished artist who worked from the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries.

opaque - Something that cannot be seen through; the opposite of transparent.

Op Art - An art movement of the twentieth century in which artists use optical illusion to create the impression of movement.

original – The first of a work, typically the painting from which prints are made. It may also be used to describe the landmark work of an artist.

overpainting - A finishing layer over another layer of paint.

paint – A mixture of pigment and a liquid.

painting - Art made with paint on a surface.

paper - A mass of interlaced cellulose fibers used as a surface.

parchment – A processed animal skin used as a surface, or paper made to imitate parchment.

pastel – A dried stick consisting of pigments mixed with gum and water used as a medium.

pastiche - A work of art that intentionally imitates other works, often to ridicule or satire.

patina - A sheen or coloration on a surface.

period - An interval of time, typically a phase of an artist or movement.

permanence, permanent – Lasting without change. Collectors concerned with the permanence of their collections request acid-free papers and mattings.

photomechanical graphic - Processes used to preparing to print images with plates, such as color separation. Increasingly, separations are done electronically rather than photomechanically.

pigment - Finely powdered color material, which, when combined with other substances, is used to create artistic media such as paint or pastels.

Pop Art - An art movement starting in the 1950s focusing on images from popular culture. Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein are examples of Pop Artists.

portrait – Artwork depicting a specific person or group of people. Also used to describe a vertically oriented rectangle; opposite of landscape.

poster - An advertisement printed on a large piece of paper.

Post-Impressionism – An art movement that immediately followed Impressionism, showing a greater emphasis on structure and form while rejecting naturalism. Van Gogh, Cezanne, and Gauguin are examples.

print and printmaking - A print is a mark made from a plate or other object using ink or paint and then pressed onto paper or other surface.

printer's proof - One of a small group of prints set aside from an edition for a printer's use (P/P)

rag paper – Paper produced using cotton fibers, used for watercolors and considered to be museum quality.

remarque - A sketch made by the artist on the plate or print, often in the margin.

seascape - A picture of a scene at sea or including the sea.

serigraphy - A method of printmaking in which the reverse of an image is put on a screen of silk or other mesh, with blank areas coated, and ink is forced through the mesh onto the surface, resulting in a serigraph. Also called silkscreen or screen-printing.

signature, signed and unsigned - A signature is an artist's name as written by that person, used to establish identity. A work with a signature is signed. Typically artists sign works only when they've been finished. Unsigned works often result when an artist is unsatisfied with the work or if the work is unfinished.

signed and numbered – Editions on which artists have placed their signatures and included an edition number, such as 1/250 (S/N).

silkscreen - A method of printmaking in which the reverse of an image is put on a screen of silk or other mesh, with blank areas coated, and ink is forced through the mesh onto the surface, resulting in a screenprint. Also called serigraphy.

sketch - A quick drawing captures the essence of an object or situation, often done as preparation for a larger or more detailed work.

social realism – An art movement that is political in content, depicting social problems. Diego Rivera was a social realist artist.

sold out – A limited edition that is no longer available on the primary market.

Surrealism or surrealism – An avant-garde art movement of the twentieth century, often depicting fantasies or dreams. Salvador Dali was a surrealist painter.

Symbolism – A nineteenth century art movement which focused on mysterious or ambiguous symbols of ideas rather than realism. Gauguin and van Gogh used Symbolism to produce emotional effects.

tempera and temper - A paint and process involving an emulsion of oil and water.

tenebroso or tenebrism - An Italian word meaning dark and gloomy, used to describe art with a high contrast between dark and light. Rembrandt's work is an example of tenebrism.

totem and totem pole - A representation of an animal serving as a guardian or symbol. Originally a traditional form among artists of various Native peoples of the "Northwest Coast," totems influence many contemporary artists.

transparent - Allowing light to pass through so that objects can be seen on the other side; the opposite of opaque.

tryptych - A work consisting of three separate surfaces, typically two smaller surfaces alongside a larger central surface.

watercolor - Any paint that uses water as a medium, commonly on a rag paper, or paintings made using this medium.

woodcut - A print made by cutting a design in the side grain of a block of wood, then inking and pressing to paper.

wood engraving - A print made by cutting a design in the end grain of a block of wood, then inking and pressing to paper. The harder end grain allows for more detailed engraving.