One of the questions that I am most often asked is where do you learn about prints. I would love to say in public galleries and museums but sadly these beautiful works are generally kept off public display for conservation reasons. Much therefore of my own early knowledge and eye for prints was gained visiting private galleries and print dealers, to whom I am greatly indebted.
While there is no substitute for actually handling prints - using your eyes to take in all the details of the line, the colour and the texture of the work of art - there is fortunately much that can be studied online and in a number of very useful books. So here are some of my recommendations for anyone wanting to learn more about this fascinating world:
First and foremost is The Print Before Photography: An Introduction to European Printmaking 1550-1820 by Anthony Griffiths. The author was for a great many years the Keeper of the British Museum's print collection, and this weighty book is a masterful survey of the golden age of print-making, beautifully illustrated with exemplars from the Museum's world class collection.
For anyone looking for a comprehensive guide to the many and varied ways in which prints are made the classic work is Bamber Gascoigne's How to identify Prints: A Complete Guide to Manual and Mechanical Processes from Woodcut to Inkjet. Not only does Gascoigne succinctly describe the print making process, he also provides a step by step method to help you correctly identify prints which is invaluable to the amateur and expert alike.
Lastly, if your passion is for old masters, two books have been my guide and inspiration for exploring the prints of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries: David Landau's The Renaissance Print 1470-1550 and Michael Bury's The Print in Italy 1550-1620. These landmark publications are a great starting point for anyone wishing to deepen their scholarship in this area.
