s3e47 behind-the-scenes at Rago Auctions with Adam McCoy

Platemark: prints and the printmaking ecosystem

Leading off 2024’s series three episodes is s3e47 in which Platemark host Ann Shafer speaks with Adam McCoy, Senior Specialist in Fine Art, Rago Auctions. Adam has worked in various auction houses for many years, including Christies and Artsy. Ann relished the chance to pepper Adam with questions.

In the episode Adam and Ann talk about the business of the business including what to expect when you decide to sell something at auction, the vagaries of the market, the authentication process, the bidding process (by phone, online, or in person), the value of old school auction catalogues, and which of Picasso’s prints holds the record price.

Edvard Munch (Norwegian, 1863–1944). Madonna, 1895. Lithograph. Image: 600 x 440 mm.; sheet: 640 x 480 mm. Munch Museum, Oslo.

Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881–1973). Femme qui pleure, 1937. Drypoint, aquatint, and etching. plate: 27 3/16 x 19 ½ in. (69 x 49.5 cm.); sheet: 30 1/2 x 22 9/16 in. (77.4 x 57.3 cm.). Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Andy Warhol (American, 1928–1987). Marilyn, 1967. Portfolio of 10 screenprints. Each: 36 x 36 in. Robin Rile Fine Art, Miami.

Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881–1973). Rembrandt with a Palette, from the Vollard Suite, 1934, printed 1939. Etching. Plate: 10 15/16 x 7 13/16 in. (27.8 x 19.8 cm.); sheet: 17 9/16 x 13 7/16 in. (44.6 x 34.1 cm.). Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Jasper Johns (American, born 1930). 0 through 9, 1960. Lithograph. Sheet: 69.9 x 54 cm (27 1/2 x 21 1/4 in.). National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Julie Mehretu (American, born Ethiopia, 1970). This Manifestation of Historical Restlessness, (from Robin's Intimacy), 2022. 10-panel etching/aquatint from 50 plates. Overall: 93 1/2 x 173 1/8 in. (237.49 x 439.74 cm.). Published by Gemini G.E.L., Los Angeles, CA.

Scott Kahn (American, born 1946). Ingersoll’s Branch, 1989, printed 2022. 26-color screenprint. Avant Arte.

Ursula von Rydinsvard (German, born 1942). CISZA, 2021-22. Cedar. 149 x 79 x 82 in.

George J. Stengel (American, 1872–1937). The Quarry, New Habor, Maine. Oil on canvas. 25 ¼ x 30 1.8 in. Questroyal Fine Art, New York.

Kate Reno Miller (American, 1874–1929). Sunlit Path, 1920. Oil on board. 11 x 14 in. Cincinnati Art Galleries.

Wharton Esherick Museum, Paoli, PA. (photo: Emma Lee, WHYY)

B.J.O. Nordfeldt (American, 1878–1955). The Skyrocket, 1906. Color woodcut. Image: 8 ¾ x 11 ¼ in. (22.2 x 28.6 cm.). Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC.