Rembrandt Millennium Impressions – Article 4

(Please read Millennium Impressions Article #1, Article #2 and Article #3 before this one.)

Survey of the Market and Values of Rembrandt Etchings With Emphasis on the Millennium Impressions

In 1998, the publication of a new, modern edition of eight Rembrandt etchings was begun under the banner of the Millennium Impressions which continued successfully until August 2003. Confusion was later entered into the market through Park West Gallery's secret purchase and ownership of the eight copper plates in August 2003, Park West's misattribution of the publication of the etchings, their ceasing to number the prints in a supposed limited edition, and their manipulation of prices. Also photomechanically reproduced examples of some of the etchings have been seen at cruise ship art auctions, and "auctioneers" have also misrepresented the intrinsic and investment value of the etchings. It is therefore important to consider the fair market value and the investment potential of the eight Rembrandt etchings that comprised the Millennium Impressions.

by David Phillips, for Fine Art Registry®

Introduction

If you have read the previous three articles in this series (recommended before reading this one) you will have the background to the Millennium Impression Rembrandt etchings - eight different etchings printed from a set of Rembrandt's original copper plates in the late 1990s and, according to Park West, in use in printer Marjorie Van Dyke's printing press until 2008.

The provenance of these etchings has been obfuscated since the eight plates were bought by Park West Gallery, a Michigan based art dealer who sells mostly through art "auctions" on cruise lines but also through their website, through their operation at Jamaica resorts (Sandals), their "VIP events" and until recently through land based art "auctions".

These articles are designed to clarify these complications and give the collector or would-be purchaser an idea of the value of the Millennium Impression etchings.

Collecting Rembrandt Etchings - Overview

Rembrandt created more than 290 etchings over a period of some 40 years (about 1625 - 1666), on a very broad range of subjects from biblical scenes through the recording of daily life and ordinary people, portraits, landscapes, nudes and so on. He was a master etcher and has been hailed as the greatest etcher of all time, one who experimented with and made breakthroughs in the medium.

Today Rembrandt's etchings can be found in museums and bought in galleries, through dealers or at auction. Some are very valuable, commanding prices of hundreds of thousands of dollars or more. Others are worth a couple of thousand dollars or less.

Why the huge difference in price?

Rembrandt etchings are, in this respect, no different from other valuable items. Some of the factors which affect the price the etchings fetch are desirability, availability and quality.

Let's look at the broad, general categories of Rembrandt etchings which are available on the market today.

Rembrandt Lifetime Impressions - It is still possible to buy a genuine Rembrandt lifetime impression, printed during Rembrandt's lifetime when he was personally producing etchings, which constituted a very important part of his artistic output and his income. These are rare and expensive and you would need expert advice to determine that it really is a lifetime impression you are buying.

What other Rembrandt etching would there be other than those produced by Rembrandt during his lifetime?

Of the 290 or so copper etching plates made by Rembrandt during his lifetime, a good number survived him. Dr. Erik Hinterding, the eminent Dutch Rembrandt scholar, states in his book The history of Rembrandt's copperplates, "It turns out, for example, that in the late seventeenth century, after Rembrandt's death, there were at least 150 of his plates in circulation from which prints were still being made." In his book Rembrandt as an etcher - the practice of production and distribution, Dr. Hinterding also points out evidence to suggest that some of Rembrandt's copper plates passed out of his possession while he was still alive and could have been used by others during his lifetime to print etchings.

Posthumous Impressions - The copper plates passed through a number of other owners down through the centuries after Rembrandt's death in 1669 (see Millennium Impressions Article #1, subheading "History of the Plates") and were used to print new editions of etchings by a number of owners, publishers and printers. Before the advent of steel facing, which protects the copper plates during the printing process, the plates would gradually wear out as a result of the printing process. As more etchings were produced from the same plate, impressions could be seen as fainter, less defined, grayer, and in the case of drypoint work, the characteristic velvety tones created by the burr made in the plate with the drypoint needle would gradually disappear. The only solution open to a publisher of later editions was to rework or rebite the plate. Reworking could be done well or poorly and in some cases where it was clumsily done the resulting prints were considerably changed from Rembrandt's original work. Rebiting is a process of deepening or widening the existing etched lines by a new exposure to acid. The intent is to render the plate serviceable again so that more etchings can be printed. This can also change the look of the resulting etching.

In the 1850's two Frenchmen, Garnier and Salmon, developed an almost miraculous process called steel facing which made it possible to coat the engraved copper plate with an incredibly thin film of iron which protects the copper during the printing process without noticeably affecting the printed image. Dr. Hinterding has the following to say about this process in relation to the eight copper plates in question:

The steel facing process, if carefully used, makes further rework or rebiting unnecessary. The iron film can be replaced when it wears down and the etching plate can theoretically be used over and over again. But the steel facing only arrests the decline. It does not repair or restore the changes already made to the plate. Once it has been altered from the original, nothing can restore a plate back to how it was when Rembrandt finished work on it. Some of the reworking was very coarse and poorly done and changed the original plate so that the original Rembrandt etching was virtually unrecognizable. In this case calling the print "an original Rembrandt etching" may be technically correct since Rembrandt did create the original plate, but can also be misleading if the buyer is not aware of the alterations that have taken place in the interests of continuing to pull prints and make money from that copper plate. Rembrandt reworked and modified his own etching plates considerably, but that of course was by the hand of the artist and only produced a different "state" of the etching without in any way detracting from his authorship.

There are records of a number of editions of posthumous etchings produced at various times over the years since Rembrandt's death by different printers and publishers, all from the same copper plates originally etched by Rembrandt but in many cases reworked by others. The latest edition of the eight etchings in question, before the Millennium Impressions, were printed at the beginning of the 20th century. The last recorded changes to the plates also occurred at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries.

Posthumous impressions from the plates that have survived are less rare and less expensive than lifetime impressions but can still be fairly pricey, depending mainly on how old they are, how rare they are, and how good they are.

Understandably, there are many more Rembrandt etchings on the market that come from the plates that have survived than from those which did not survive. Because the etchings from the surviving plates are more plentiful, they can usually be purchased at lower prices than the etchings from plates which did not survive, other factors being equal.

A general idea of the posthumous impressions that have been made in the 300 years following Rembrandt's death from the eight copper plates which have been put back into service to produce the Millennium Impressions can be found in Article #1 in this series.

The milestones along the way, in terms of owners of the plates and posthumous editions include, but are not necessarily limited to

Clement De Jonghe (by 1669)

Pieter De Haan (before 1767)

Charles Henri Watelet (1767)

Pierre François Basan (1786)

H. L. Basan (1797)

August Jean (1805)

Veuve Jean (August's widow) (1820)

Michel Bernard (1846)

Alvin Beaumont (1906)

Robert Lee Humber (1938)

and in the case of the eight copper plates from which the Millennium Impressions were printed

Dr. Howard Berger (1993)

Park West Galleries (2003 to the present).

It is interesting to follow the vicissitudes of a single Rembrandt etching through the ages. In fact it would be worth following two of them, one that has been heavily reworked and another that has not. These are both plates which were destined to become part of the collection of eight from which the Millennium Impressions were printed. The following information is paraphrased from G. W. Nowell-Usticke's book, Rembrandt's Etchings - States and Values. Nowell-Usticke provides dollar values of prints at various stages which give an idea of his estimate of the value of the prints through their various states (the book was published in 1967 so these figures are not current). The dollar values noted by Nowell-Usticke are not given here as any indication of current prices but only to emphasize how much more expensive a good, early lifetime impression is likely to be than a later restrike, particularly one of poor quality. It should also be noted that Rembrandt experts disagree as to the number of states and other factors regarding Rembrandt's etchings, so this information should not be taken as gospel.

Self-portrait Drawing at a Window

Nowell-Usticke describes the etching as, "A common very desirable portrait. Early impressions are rare."

He states that there were three trial proofs before the 1st State and estimates their value at $20,000 to $25,000 and the first state at $12,500 for an early impression and $5,000 for a late impression.

[Note: The above are all lifetime impressions by Rembrandt. The trial proofs are the first proofs printed to check the etching until Rembrandt was satisfied with the result and then the 1st State would be the first actual edition printed in greater quantity and sold. The 1st State was signed by Rembrandt and dated 1648, the signature and date being part of the plate itself.]

[Note 2: Within each edition printed, say for example 50 or 100 prints, the resulting prints differ. The early ones in the print run tend to be more distinct and of better quality and then, as the plates wear with the printing process, the later impressions look weaker, grayer and not so defined and strong. This affects the quality of the etchings and their value.]

Nowell-Usticke goes on to describe a 3rd State which he values at $1,250 for an early impression and $1,100 for a late impression. Rembrandt made some changes to this state, described by Nowell-Usticke as follows:

"The left cuff is now shaded. Heavy shading on the thick book, giving the appearance of several bulges running up and down across the back. Much extra work all over."

For the early impression he adds,

"Impression sharp and strong, very dark and black, face coarser looking, heavy burr on the coat; slight burr on shading of scroll. Some burr on trees in the landscape." [The burr referred to is the result of the lines cut in with a drypoint needle. The rough edge of the line in the copper plate prints in a special way when the plate is inked and this is quite distinguishable. This burr becomes fainter as the plate is printed from and wears.]

For the late impression he adds,

"Impression strong - no burr on landscape."

The 4th State is now posthumous. Nowell-Usticke's comments:

"WATELET undoubtedly retouched this. The whole plate shows much fine, and very skilled reworking, in an endeavour to restore the plate to the appearance of the 1st State. The book again shows a fine crease running lengthwise down the centre of its back; fine close vertical shading covers Rembrandt's curls in the dark space between the hat brim and the edge of the right cheek."

He values an early impression of this state at $900 and a late one at $1,000, noting that the later one has probably been retouched and the face is lighter but appearance more attractive.

The 5th State is by P. F. BASAN. Nowell-Usticke's description follows:

"Flat and unattractive looking, the face much worn. The entire background retouched, noticeably with close verticals along top and bottom borders, and L. to R. diagonals along R. border. Outline of the hat strengthened and new work on the fingers of the R. hand, with clear cross L. to R. diagonals on the index finger, etc. Before the heavy reworking. Landscape very weak." He prices this one at $150.

6th State BASAN. "Much new work; fine shading on shoulders; much fine close L. to R. diagonal shading on the face, particularly the chin & to R. of mouth. Upper part of landscape almost worn out, and very weak. Hat heavily reworked at R." He values an early, "Fair strong impression" at $125 and a late "Face much worn" impression at $75.

7th State. JEAN. "The entire plate completely reworked and rebitten. General appearance coarse; there is nothing left of the original work."

He values an early impression and an intermediate impression at $25 each.

8th State. BERNARD. "Further heavy and coarse reworking in the background, and on the table cloth." He values this at $25 and a BERNARD late impression "With considerable wear, especially to hat" at $25.

He adds "BEAUMONT. Not seen."

Dr. Erik Hinterding examined the copper plate for Self-portrait Drawing at a Window in 1993 and noted that it was "heavily reworked and probably rebitten".

A comparison of a good lifetime impression (left), a Basan impression (center) and a Millennium Impression (right) demonstrate clearly the evolution of this particular image over the centuries.

Other plates are not so heavily reworked, and posthumous impressions pulled from them more closely resemble Rembrandt's original work.

The Golf Player

Nowell-Usticke describes this etching as, "Not uncommon. Impressions usually light. A popular plate. Signed and dated Rembrandt f. 1654. Plate in existence PARIS."

1st State. "There are some blank spaces along the upper border, where the acid has failed."

He values an early impression at $600 and an intermediate "very good" impression at $400.

2nd State. P. F. BASAN. "Strong, sharp impression (looking better than most 1st states). With clear rust spots to left of and above player. Still with very fine vertical scratches to R. of player's hat and face. Square corners." This he values at $350.

An intermediate BASAN he values at $300 and a late JEAN at $300, commenting "Rather light impression. Rust marks quite faint. The close shading to R. of seated man becoming worn."

3rd State. BERNARD. "strongly rebitten, lines above seated man's head thicker." He values this at $75.

"BEAUMONT. No new work, shading to R. of seated man's back worn. Impression fairly good." And he puts a price tag of $50 on it.

Dr. Hinterding describes the plate for The Golf Player as "Not reworked. Possibly rebitten."

Again, here are three images, one a lifetime impression (left), the second a later, probably 18th possibly 19th century impression of the second state (right) and the third a Millennium Impression (below). The differences here are not nearly so marked as with the self portrait.

Perhaps these two examples give an idea of what has happened to the plates and their etchings over the centuries. There are of course many shades in between these two extreme examples. The dollar values assigned by Nowell-Usticke are not current but do give an idea of the relative value or lack of value of the impressions as they come further away from Rembrandt's lifetime, and with each state as the plates become more worn and the resulting impressions poorer in quality.

Millennium Impressions - As has already been discussed, in the 1990s a project was begun to make a new edition of prints, limited to 2,500 of each, from eight of the surviving copper plates. This project was begun by Dr. Howard Berger (who then owned the plates), Emiliano Sorini and then Marjorie Van Dyke (printers), and Intaglio Etchings, Ltd. (the company which undertook to market the etchings). As far as is known, this is almost the only effort to print etchings from Rembrandt's copper plates since early in the 20th century. There are over 70 other copper plates in existence, the majority of which have been kept by museums and collectors as artistic masterpieces all of their own and have not been used to generate new etchings, although a very few of the other plates have been printed from in the late 20th century.

These etchings can be bought "brand new" from galleries (for example, the Jean Stephen Galleries offer the Millennium Impressions for sale, except for The Raising of Lazarus which they list as sold out). Practically all the rest of Rembrandt's etchings are only available on the secondary market.

This also means that the Millennium Impressions are in much greater supply and more common than almost all of Rembrandt's other etchings.

"After Rembrandt" Impressions - Over the centuries, etchings have been made by others copying Rembrandt's work or his style. Selling these etchings as Rembrandt etchings is of course a misrepresentation. You can read about these etchings at the following website: www.rembrandtart.com which features the Armand Durand etchings. They are only mentioned here because the collector may well come across them and needs to be on the alert. These are copies of Rembrandt's plates made by another.

Other sources - the other alternative - buying a more modern restrike of one of the eight etchings that made up the Millennium Impressions, produced after August 2003 - is not included for all the reasons which have been given in the previous three articles in this series and in this one.)

Comparing the Choices

Dr. Erik Hinterding, one of the most eminent authorities on Rembrandt etchings alive today, points out that comparison of posthumous impressions, either recent ones or even 18th/19th century restrikes, to lifetime impressions is of little value since the price of a good, early lifetime impression can easily exceed that of these restrikes by a factor of ten. He also made it clear that there is no substitute, in buying Rembrandt etchings, for real knowledge of the subject and the market. Prices for Rembrandt etchings can vary enormously due to the quality of the impression, lifetime or posthumous, and according to the auction house if the etching is offered at auction (the more expertise, the higher the prices generally). Rare Rembrandt etchings are often sold through dealers rather than auction houses these days.

The best you can buy, if money is no object, is obviously a fine, early impression from Rembrandt's lifetime which is in pristine condition and has impeccable provenance. Depending on the etching, you could pay hundreds of thousands or even over a million dollars for such an etching. They are very rare.

If a lifetime impression is too expensive for you, the next best solution is to get a good quality posthumous impression pulled from a plate that has not been reworked by others or which is as close to the original plate when last touched by Rembrandt as possible. Watelet, for example, was known to be very skilled in reworking Rembrandt's plates and his work is much less of an alteration from the original than that of some of the later owners of the copper plates, some of whom seem to have been more bent on making a profit from printing from the plates than they were on preserving Rembrandt's art.

When it comes to the Millennium Impressions, Dr. Hinterding has confirmed that the plates had not been reworked in 1993 or between 1993 and 2003. They should not need to be as they were steel faced before 1993, and Marjorie Van Dyke confirms that she steel faced them again. So the printing should not have worn the plates down.

According to Nowell-Usticke, considerable reworking on most of the plates was carried out as late as by Bernard in the late 19th century and some by Beaumont in the early 1900s. There should be no difference between the plates used by Bernard (after the rework) and Beaumont and the plates used to print the Millennium Impressions. Emiliano Sorini cleaned old ink and varnish from the plates but did not rework or rebite them. There is a variable in the quality of paper, ink and printing and it would therefore be possible for the Millennium Impressions to be better prints than those of Bernard, Beaumont, Basan and Jean. However, etchings printed from any of the plates before they were heavily reworked are all likely to be closer to Rembrandt's original lifetime impressions than the Millennium Impressions and therefore, presumably, more desirable. Each plate must be considered separately and even the experts disagree on the amount of work which was done since Rembrandt's lifetime. It is possible to study excellent reproductions of lifetime impressions and compare them to posthumous ones in order to see the difference for yourself. These reproductions are readily available in books, and the originals exist in many museums.

How Many?

Because the value of just about anything is determined by supply and demand and how scarce or plentiful a certain item may be, it is useful when trying to grapple with the prices of Rembrandt etchings, to get an idea of how many were made during his lifetime and by later publishers and printers over the intervening centuries since Rembrandt's death.

Etchings from the plates were obviously made during Rembrandt's lifetime. He created the plates so that he could print and sell etchings. How many were made from each plate is not known. These were not numbered and the editions were not limited as we know limited editions today. We know the etchings went through different states and experts disagree on how many states there were for each of the plates. At the time steel facing for protection of the copper plates during printing did not exist so the number of good impressions that could be produced was limited. When the etching also involved drypoint, which many of Rembrandt's etchings did, the number of good impressions that could be produced from the copper plate was not more than about 50 (Dr. Erik Hinterding, The history of Rembrandt's copperplates, page 10). One estimate of the number of fine impressions that can be pulled from a copper etching plate is 150. This is before the technique of steel facing the plate was invented.

We asked Dr. Erik Hinterding some hard questions which he was kind enough to answer.

Some of the plates may have passed out of Rembrandt's possession during his lifetime.

How Can you Tell the Difference Between Lifetime and Posthumous Impressions?

Again, we turned to Dr. Hinterding.

One of the first clues to look for in determining whether a particular etching is a lifetime impression or posthumous is whether or not the plate exists today. If the plate still exists, then posthumous impressions will be more plentiful and common and the etching is more likely to be posthumous. (For a full list of the plates which survived Rembrandt and exist today, see the appendix of Erik Hinterding's The history of Rembrandt's copperplates (with a catalogue of those that survive).

From this one can see that a simple knowledge of the different states and comparison with the various catalogues is not enough to guarantee correct identification. It takes a great deal more knowledge and familiarity than that. And even the experts don't always agree on all points.

If you are purchasing an item in the high thousands, tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars, it makes sense to spend a few dollars to have it checked by a real expert who is entirely independent to the sale. At least this will give you a fair certainty.

Prices

The choice of what etching to buy is very dependent on price and how much one is willing to pay. And some comparisons of prices would be useful at this point.

Here is an example of a lifetime impression - Self-Portrait: Drawing At a Window. - for sale at time of writing through Masterworks Fine Art with the following description:

"Edition:

"According to Nowell-Usticke, this is an intermediate State II/III (of VIII) after the shading of the right hand, prior to the shading of the left cuff. Hind State IV (of V); Biörklund State IV (of V); Boon & White State IV (of V)

"Condition:

"A rich, velvety impression with even margins all around."

The price is advertised as $30,500 and with a 35% off offer it can be purchased for $19,825.

The etching is very nicely framed with museum quality archival materials.

Here is another recent sales listing, sold at auction by Swann Galleries of New York, for the same etching but a later, posthumous impression. "Self Portrait Drawing at a Window. 1648, probably a late 18th century impression."

This is listed as Nowell-Usticke's 5th state which means it is a P. F. Basan impression (late 18th century). It is described as "A very good, well-inked and evenly printed impression with strong contrasts." The expected price is listed as $8,000 - 12,000 but it sold for $5,600.

Here is another example of the same etching, this one sold through Christie's of London. This is Nowell-Usticke's 6th State which is a Basan (son) posthumous impression. It is described as "a good impression of the fifth (final) state. N-U's sixth state (of eight) with margins, in good condition." This one sold for $13,045.

And another, also from Swann Galleries, sold in New York in October 2008 for $11,000. This was a 4th State, Watelet, described as follows:

"A very good, dark impression with burr on the sheets of paper below the artist's right hand and before the retouching of the face."

The Millennium Impressions version of this etching is offered for sale at Jean Stephen Galleries for $4,300.

Let's look at another one of the eight etchings. The Card Player.

Swann Galleries offered a lifetime impression of this etching "A very good, clear, crisp and early impression on thin cream laid paper" with a price estimate of $6,000 - 9,000.

Christie's of London sold one of these etchings, 1st State according to Nowell-Usticke and a lifetime impression, for $11,160 including buyer's premium in December 2008.

Bassenge auction house in Germany sold one for $1,815 in November 2008. This is described as Nowell-Usticke 4th State which means Bernard and therefore the second half of the 19th century.

Another one of the same (4th - Nowell-Usticke) state, described as "A good impression" sold at Swann Galleries for $2,000 in May 2008.

Swann Galleries sold two of these etchings from Nowell-Usticke 3rd State Watelet edition "A very good impression" for $2,000 each.

Jean Stephen Galleries currently offers the Millennium Impressions edition of The Card Player for $3,500.

Park West Galleries' website offers the Millennium edition of The Card Player for $5,500 (note that this is not much less than the estimated full price of a lifetime impression of the same etching from Swann Galleries and considerably more than two copies of a Watelet impression of the etching in good condition).

Further parallels can be drawn but this should give an idea of the variations in prices for different editions of the same etching.

The Millennium Impressions

It may seem that we have taken a long time to arrive at what is really the subject of this article - the value of the Millennium Impression etchings - but you should be able to appreciate by now that the subject is a complex one. You should also be in a better position to judge and appreciate what you have or what you are considering buying if you are a collector or potential collector of the Millennium Impression etchings.

The idea of wandering into a staged "auction" on a cruise ship, being plied with champagne (a sales tactic reportedly taught to Park West employees in their training period) and taking the word of an untrained (in art) and unlicensed "auctioneer" about some etchings on which you have done no personal research or due diligence and spending thousands or tens of thousands of dollars on some pieces of paper which, you are told, are "original Rembrandt etchings, a huge bargain and a wonderful investment for the future" and "you can walk off the ship and sell these right away for at least twice what you paid for them" must, after reading these articles up to this point, seem at best a little unwise.

The first point is to draw a very important distinction between the Millennium Impression etchings which were published between the end of 1998 and August 2003 by Intaglio Etchings Ltd. and the Millennium edition etchings which were published covertly by Park West Gallery after August 2003. The subject of each is the same eight images. They should be the same. They are not.

The Millennium Impressions - These are the original etchings first published by Intaglio Etchings, Ltd. beginning at the end of 1998 and continuing until August 2003. The plates, at this time, were owned by Dr. Berger of Beverly Hills. After he bought the copper plates in 1993, they were thoroughly cleaned of the protective layer of ink and varnish by Emiliano Sorini, a master printer, and a new edition of etchings, limited to 2,500 of each, was printed first by Emiliano Sorini and then by Marjorie Van Dyke, another master printer who studied under Sorini. The etchings were sold by Intaglio Etchings Ltd. under the name of Millennium Impressions and each one was accompanied by a certificate of authenticity, printed on beige paper, each bearing a unique number and the signature of Marjorie Van Dyke. The certificates also bore the disclosures required by law for the sale of fine art multiples. As a condition of the sale of the plates to Park West Galleries, Intaglio Etchings, Ltd. stopped its business operations and ceased to exist at the end of 2003. The certificate of authenticity accompanying a genuine Intaglio Etchings Ltd. Millennium Impression etching looks exactly like this, and only like this:

(Note: The exception is some of the galleries which were supplied with genuine Intaglio Etchings Ltd. Millennium Impressions issued their own certificate of authenticity and supplied these with the etchings.)

The Millennium edition - In August 2003 Dr. Berger sold the copper plates to Park West Gallery. Park West Gallery, owning the copper plates and controlling the printing, the distribution and the prices of the etchings, naturally became the publisher, although they apparently expended considerable time and effort in trying to disguise this fact, (as covered in detail in Millennium Impressions Article #2 and #3). Park West Gallery ceased issuing the numbered certificates of authenticity with the required disclosures (except in some cases where customers demanded them and then they had to scramble to produce them, but there is no telling if the numbers on them had anything to do with the number of etchings printed and sold, and the certificates were not the same ones as issued by Intaglio Etchings, Ltd.). They doubled and tripled the prices which they fixed, as there was no competition - they owned the plates. Their sales people on ships misrepresented the etchings (again, see Millennium Impressions Article #2 for customer stories). They continue to sell these etchings to this day.

Here is an example of a certificate of authenticity which is not issued by Intaglio Etchings and does not refer to the original Millennium Impressions. It is a forgery if for no other reason that it says it comes from a company, Intaglio Etchings Ltd., that did not exist when this was issued.

There was a "gray" period from when Park West bought the plates in August 2003 until late 2005. During this period, when Park West employed as sales representative John McLaurin, who had been involved with the Millennium Impressions since working as the gallery manager for Galerie Michael through the time that he acted as Dr. Berger's representative in the sale of the copper plates to Park West, and now doing business as "Intaglio" in Florida, Bill Smith of Park West Gallery persuaded McLaurin to keep the former Intaglio Etchings' website live and misrepresented to the buying public as well as to the cruise lines, that the etchings were being published by an outside company and not by Park West. John McLaurin was, during this time, selling the Rembrandt etchings which were supplied to him by Park West, on his own behalf. There were a number of cases where he was approached by Park West customers who had bought the etchings on cruise ships for much more than the prices he was charging. He then assisted them to get their deal with Park West cancelled and sold them a full set of the etchings for a much lower price. However, he depended on Park West for his supply of prints and when these did not come, he failed to deliver to over 20 customers whose money he had taken. Most of these victims never did get their prints. Nor did they get their money back. This situation remains unresolved to this day. It is a legal question as to whether Park West Gallery is responsible for the prints sold to these customers by John McLaurin while he was operating under contract with Park West Gallery. In late 2005 John McLaurin went to jail, Park West denied all knowledge of him, and from then on John McLaurin was no longer part of the picture.

Park West continues to this day to sell their etchings without any number or any verification from the printer, accompanied by its own certificates of authenticity which are prepared and signed in house by Albert Scaglione, the company's owner, or Morris Shapiro, the gallery director. They omit the disclosures regarding the sale of fine art multiples required by law in many states. They also carry the misleading statement, "This superbly printed etching with fine detail, strong contrast and delicate line work was pulled from the original plate as created by Rembrandt in 1631," or words to that effect (the wording varies slightly from one etching to another). Anyone who has studied this article can see quite clearly that none of the plates, at the end of the 20th century, are "as created by Rembrandt in 1631." They have all had at least some rework in the intervening centuries or have been rebitten.

Current Sales of Millennium Impression and Millennium edition etchings

Park West continues to own the copper plates and sell the etchings through the cruise line art "auctions", on its website and no doubt through other channels. You can see these etchings for sale on the Park West Gallery website. Buyers have no idea how many of each etching have been sold. This is not documented, They receive no evidence of any value to show that the edition limit of 2,500 of each has not been exceeded.

Following is an example of one of the Millennium etchings offered for sale on the Park West Gallery website at the time of writing of this article. The price asked for is $7,200.00 as you can see.

The following shows current prices from the Jean Stephen Galleries for the Millennium Impression of the same etching. Notice that they are asking $2,900 for Artist's Mother with Hand on her Chest (the same etching that was being offered by Park West for $7,200 with the difference that this is one of the original Intaglio Etchings prints with a genuine numbered certificate of authenticity, which means it must have been bought originally before Park West bought the copper plates in 2003).

In addition to the huge price discrepancy, there is another concern. As detailed in Millennium Impressions Article 3, a Park West auctioneer found that some of the Millennium edition Rembrandt etchings that Park West supplied for sale on board cruise ships were, in fact, not etchings at all but some sort of photomechanical reproduction being passed off as an etching. The tell-tale plate marks were noticeably absent.

This is clear evidence that a photomechanical reproduction was being offered for sale as an etching. These etchings are always sold sealed up in large frames. There is no telling how many of the "etchings" sold by Park West which were not etchings at all but photomechanical reproductions (fakes) have gone unnoticed. An inexpert eye looking at one of these in its frame is not going to be able to tell the difference.

Park West changed the name from Millennium Impressions to Millennium edition. They do not issue any number with the etchings they sell. A customer buying one of the Millennium edition etchings has no way of telling if it is number 1, number 1,000, number 2,500 or number 50,000 (out of a limited edition of 2,500). The certificates of authenticity that accompany the etchings (or prints) are signed only by the gallery owner, Albert Scaglione, or the gallery director, Morris Shapiro. Cruise ship art auctioneers frequently misrepresent the etchings, quoting the misinformation they have acquired in their training and further misrepresenting even that (see Millennium Impressions Article #3) so that buyers in some cases are deceived into thinking that they are purchasing a rare etching printed by Rembrandt during his lifetime or a wealth of other fictions. They are told of the great investment value of their purchases and what a great bargain they are getting.

These various factors of course seriously affect the value of the Millennium edition etchings purchased at these auctions or online.

For all of these reasons, it is very hard if not impossible to estimate the actual worth of these etchings but if you own one or several, it would be worth getting an independent appraisal of them.

Because of these factors, the rest of this article will deal not with the later Millennium edition etchings but with the value of the real Millennium Impression etchings sold by Intaglio Etchings, Ltd. before Park West bought the plates and introduced all of the above obfuscation and confusion.

These genuine, Intaglio Etchings, Ltd. Rembrandt etchings can be identified because they came with one of Intaglio Etchings' certificates of authenticity, printed on beige paper bearing a unique number and the signature of Marjorie Van Dyke, as shown above. It is estimated that no more than 3,700 TOTAL etchings were sold before Park West bought the plates and remaining inventory but the figure is probably lower than that. This is out of a total of 8 x 2,500 = 20,000 total etchings authorized in the limited addition. So the number on the original certificate of authenticity for the prints sold by Intaglio Etchings Ltd. would be relatively low.

We will refer to these etchings as Millennium Impressions to distinguish them from whatever was published and sold by Park West after August 2003 under the name Millennium edition. Don't be confused, even by the fact that Park West has now, since the publication of Millennium Impressions Articles 1 and 2, started calling the prints they offer for sale "Millennium Impressions".

How do you put a price on an etching made from a Rembrandt plate which was created almost 350 years ago and printed posthumously?

Before these prints were first released and marketed by Intaglio Etchings Ltd., a great deal of research was conducted to come up with a price point that seemed fair and which the market would bear. In 1998 you could have purchased a whole set of the eight etchings, professionally framed and each accompanied by a genuine certificate of authenticity stating the series number of each print and bearing the printer's signature for well under $10,000. There was no secondary market at the time (and no claims were made as to investment value of the prints). The required disclosures were made. People knew what they were buying and they either felt it was worth the money or they didn't buy.

The following explanation of how the prices were arrived at was provided by a founding member of Intaglio Etchings, Ltd. who conducted the necessary research:

What is their value on the secondary market today?

If you have a certificate of authenticity from Intaglio Etchings Ltd., keep it! It should make a difference to the value of the etching, based on what you have read here.

The Raising of Lazarus Millennium Impression, has apparently sold out, meaning that all 2,500 of the edition have been printed and sold and this would only be available on the secondary market. But a Nowell-Usticke 10th State example (Bernard) sold in October 2008 for $2,400 at Swann Galleries. Unless it was a much better print or in better condition, why would you have paid Park West Galleries over $7,000 for a late 20th century print from the same state?

And if you can buy, as shown earlier in this article, a good Bernard impression of The Card Player for $1,850 or $2,000, why would you pay Jean Stephen Galleries $3,500 for a Millennium Impression edition or Park West Galleries $5,500 for a Millennium edition? For a little more than that you could buy a very good, early impression.

Now of course, if the quality of the Millennium Impression is better than the Bernard impression, the states being the same, you may prefer to buy the Millennium Impression for a little more. You would have to look at the etchings and decide.

Emiliano Sorini and Marjorie Van Dyke are both master printers and did a remarkably good job of printing from the plates they had. There was no rework of the plates before they printed from them. The wear and rework which these plates had undergone over the centuries were all inherited by them when they came to print. Steel facing the plates protected them from further wear and made it possible to print thousands more examples of each etching, but did not undo the wear or restore the plates to the condition they were in when they left Rembrandt’s hands. It is this wear and rework that makes some of the etchings look considerably worse than when Rembrandt printed from them (the self portrait pictured above is an extreme example). But then again, the prices for the Millennium Impressions when these were under the control of Intaglio Etchings, Ltd. were in a very different range from those of the lifetime or even the early posthumous impressions.

Unfortunately there is no fast, easy answer. As with most expensive items, there is often a compromise between quality and price. But these articles should help you at least to know what questions to ask and what to look for before you decide what to buy.

As far as what your existing Millennium Impressions etching with a real Intaglio Etchings certificate of authenticity, numbered and bearing Marjorie Van Dyke's signature is worth, again, this article should help you work it out. They can be bought (except for The Raising of Lazarus) new from Jean Stephen Galleries for the prices listed above. They may be available from other galleries. So you would not be able to ask more than that if you were selling your copy. But even those prices are questionable when you consider that earlier posthumous impressions are fairly plentiful and can, in some cases, be bought for less than the Millennium Impressions from Jean Stephen Galleries.

If you own or would like to own a Rembrandt etching, break open the catalogs, do some research, check with an expert (someone who does not stand to gain from selling you an etching or buying one from you) and don't rush into a purchase or a sale.

And if you did pay over $7,000 for a Millennium edition Raising of Lazarus you can be quite confident that you paid too much. You will not be able to sell it for that much for quite some time to come and you could have purchased a good early posthumous impression for less. Maybe when all the earlier posthumous impressions have been bought up and there are not many of these available, you will be able to recoup that kind of money for it. But at least for the immediate future you can count on having paid at least three times too much for it.

As for their investment value, Artprice lists the annual growth rate for Rembrandt art sales for 2008 over 2007 as -261%. This is, of course, a very short term look. But even looking back to 1998 when the Millennium Impressions were first marketed, the same source shows that over the 10 year period the growth rate is -1%. The moral? Don't buy art as an investment without really doing your homework and knowing what you're doing.

Bibliography

The following bibliography is not provided as a formality but to make some educated suggestions as to further reading, since these articles have only been able to scratch the surface of the subject.

Erik Hinterding, The history of Rembrandt's copperplates, Waanders Uitgevers, Zwolle 1993-4.

Erik Hinterding, Rembrandt as an etcher (3 Volumes. Vol 1 is the text, the practice of production and distribution), Sound & Vision Publishers, Ouderkerk aan den Ijssel. 2006.

G. W. Nowell-Usticke, Rembrandt's Etchings, States and Values. Livingston. 1967.

The Complete Etchings of Rembrandt (Reproduced in Original Size) Edited by Gary Schwartz. Dover. 1994.

Ludwig Münz, A Critical Catalogue of Rembrandt Etchings (2 vols), Phaidon Press, London. 1952.

Christopher White & Karel G. Boon, Rembrandt's Etchings. An illustrated critical catalogue in two volumes, Amsterdam, London, New York 1969.

Christopher White, Rembrandt as an etcher: a study of the artist at work, New Haven, London 1999 (revised and extended edition, first edition 1969)

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