Do Reproductions Devalue Original Artwork?

Twilight Rhapsody
20 x 20 Acrylic on canvas  $995.00

Over the last few years I have heard a lot of comments about reproduction prints of artwork devaluing the original paintings.  "Why would you want to buy a painting that has a had lots of reproductions made of it?" is the cry, and "I wouldn't want to see the lovely painting I bought as a cheap reproduction in Walmart!"

With the advent of POD (Print on Demand) sites like Fine Art America I expect that I will hear these comments more frequently however I disagree and here are my reasons.

Think about the Mona Lisa.  How many zillions of copies are there of that painting in the world?  Do you think these countless copies devalue that?  Of course not, it actually makes the original more valuable. If I bought a painting that I loved and then it was reproduced and became so popular that it was in shops and homes everywhere, I would be absolutely delighted and proud that I had the "original".  It's value in monetary terms would have increased and I would feel very good about my decision to have bought that artwork. An original is always special and unique.  Feel very happy if you own an original and never feel that a copy made of it takes anything away from that specialness.

Not everyone can afford original artwork but they may love an artists work and want to feature it in their home.  Art should be for everyone to enjoy and not just for those who can afford original work. 

How do you feel about this?

I would really appreciate it if you use the buttons below to share this on your favorite social networking site.

Sales on Fine Art America

Susanne Clark - Cello Head in Red
©2009 Susanne Clark
Acrylic on panel 6 x 6 in

After my last post Eva mentioned that she was interested in my experience with Fine Art America so I decided to write this post.  I think it's good timing to write about it too because I just had notification that I sold three reproductions there today. 

Fine Art America is a print on demand site but you can also list and sell originals. I think they are very well set up and have a site that is easy to use. The number of artists on the site is increasing very fast too and shows work from very basic to outstanding in quality.  There are a few problems that need to be sorted, one being how they classify the artwork.  Some people on the site will put their work into every category instead of just still life or wild life for example. This must make it very frustrating for viewers trying to find a particular type of art.  When I lived in the UK I was on a small site there and they limited the number of categories so it worked better and more fairly.  They also looked at each photo submitted to verify that the picture was of a good quality and accurately showed the work, something that FAA doesn't seem to do. Hopefully they will sort out all the glitches in time

I have belonged to Fine Art America now for about eighteen months but the last six have been the best in terms of sales. In the past month I have sold nine reproductions and two originals here.  I hadn't bothered listing the price for originals as I didn't think that people would be interested in them on this site because of the price being higher than for a reproduction.  I realise now that was being a bit silly as I received an email from a lady who asked if I had any more originals because she preferred them. The pictures I had showing on the site, most of the originals had already been sold.  I sent her pictures of a few and she ended up purchasing two.  I think I learned a good lesson!

Prior to the last month I also had sales ... about eight I think and many of those were larger sizes and framed so the commission on those was good and very nice to receive.  I haven't done much in the way of promoting my work on the site and that's something I intend to do more of this year. I like the fact that once I have downloaded the pictures FAA takes care of the rest.  One thing I think is very important is making sure that the file is excellent so that the reproductions are good and I never offer the largest size that is available in case it's not as clear as it could be for that size.

I think it's a great site too for purchasers as they have access to a wide variety of work and prices.  I'm sure there is a painting there for everyone.