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Why a Signature Can Make or Break an Artwork’s Price

More than just proof of authorship, a signature can be a powerful price multiplier.

In the years she served as New York director of Crown Point Press, Kim Schmidt worked with numerous artists—John Cage, Francesco Clemente, Richard Diebenkorn, Al Held, Pat Steir and Wayne Thiebaud, among others—on their print editions, and each produced images according to their own processes, which could vary widely. However, Schmidt had one iron rule for every artist and every edition they created: “We wouldn’t let works go out that weren’t signed and numbered.”

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Like a vigilant parent, Schmidt would stand watch as the artists examined their prints, signing and numbering those they approved and discarding those that weren’t up to standard—she shredded them in front of the artists. “I made sure we didn’t skip a print, because we don’t want unsigned and unnumbered prints floating around the market,” she told Observer. It isn’t a particularly interesting or creative activity for either the artist or printmaker to move methodically through an edition, writing ‘1/50 Richard Diebenkorn, 2/50 Richard Diebenkorn’ and so on until they reach the 50th print, and then signing additional impressions identified as Artist Proofs or Printer’s Proofs or HC (hors de commerce, or not-for-sale) proofs or other special designations.

“Artists rarely are happy to have to sit down and sign their names again and again,” Schmidt said. “Sometimes, artists would get tired doing it, or their handwriting might get a bit sloppy. I could see this happening with Richard Estes, and I suggested that we take a break and go out to lunch and have sushi.” Presumably, that break helped restore the artist’s patience for signing and numbering the remaining prints.

The task of signing artworks—paintings, photographs, prints, sculptures or otherwise—can ultimately mean a much larger financial reward than a meal. The signature informs the viewer that the artist created the work and approved it for sale. “It says ‘This work is finished and is ready to go out in the world,’” Edwynn Houk, a Manhattan gallery owner who specializes in photography,........

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