Art Terms

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<sub>Acid-Free   Used to describe matting, paper or storage materials that do not contain acids that can cause discoloration or deterioration.

After   Done in the style of a particular artist by other than that artist. If the artist had no creation or supervision and had no involvement at all with the pulling of a limited edition, then each piece in the edition would be considered as "after" the artist. (it does not connote after the artist's death).

Aquatint   A process for producing tone etchings, so named because the finished print resembles watercolor drawings in quality. The ordinary bitten line of etching is combined with a delicate tone or tint produced by etching the copper plate with acid through a protective resist. This resist, or ground, is laid by flooding the copper plate with dissolved powdered resin, or by inserting the copper plate in a dust box. Using the dust box method, the coating of resin dust has to be fastened to the plate by heating it. From this stage on the process is similar to etching. Those parts of the design which are to be left white are protected with an acid resistant material such as varnish, or are "stopped out", and the rest of the plate is bitten. Varying tonal effects are achieved by repeated varnishing and immersion. After preparation of the plate, the edition is pulled as would be in other etching techniques.

Artist's Proof   Abbreviated "A.P."  A portion of the total number of impressions or pieces in a limited edition are usually designated "A.P." Generally, the entire edition is pulled (printed) one color at a time, and only after the entire edition has been pulled, the artist will then sign and number the pieces. Consequently, artist's proofs are no different than any other impressions within the edition. Often, there is a false belief that pieces designated as artist's proofs are it worth" more or are more "valuable" than other pieces in the edition.

Atelier   This is the workshop, where an edition is pulled or printed. (from the French word meaning "studio", pronounced "a telyea".)

Bas-Relief</sub> A hanging wall sculpture, in which the image is raised from the background. Pronounced "ba relief'.

Benday Dots   When viewed under slight magnification, a print that has been produced using a half-tone screen will show a dot pattern. These benday dots are what give the various shades of tone and density to the print. (Named for its inventor, Benjamin Day, in the early 1900's.)

Biting   In etching and aquatint, the immersion of a prepared copper or zinc plate in acid, which "bites" into the exposed metal. When printed, the bitten areas will be visible.

_{Burin   A tool, usually hard steel, used to draw on etching or engraving plates.}