Graphic arts

Everything you've always wanted to know about graphic arts but never dared to ask is here! Derived from the Greek word graphein (to write), graphic arts refer to all technical processes (drawing, printmaking, graphic design...) used in the visual conception or presentation of an artwork. By extension, they include all image reproduction methods, such as photography. In online graphic art auctions, you’ll find posters, drawings in watercolor, gouache or graphite on paper. These sheets, old or contemporary, where the art of line competes with prints — images reproduced from engraved or drawn supports: engravings, lithographs, silkscreens, etc. The aim is to make an impression. Graphic art sales also give prominence to photography, from albumen paper prints by Gustave Le Gray, Brassaï, Doisneau, Robert Capa, to contemporary works by Nan Goldin or the Magnum agency — even to pieces by street artists whose tags, stencils, and graffiti have moved from the streets to auction rooms and online sales. Did you know? A fake £10 note created by Banksy and handed out for free to the Notting Hill crowd in 2004 can now fetch sky-high prices at Hôtel Drouot. Kaws, Invader, Jonone are also in the spotlight. Find the finest online graphic art auctions on Drouot.com — in Paris, throughout France, and abroad (United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, United States, etc.)