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Thomas Kinkade Limited Editions and Originals
Thomas Kinkade is one of over 100 world renowned artists available through Herndon Fine Art. Click on Artist's Name to your left for a complete listing. Whether you are interested in buying or selling fine art from Thomas Kinkade, or any of these other fabulous artists -- we are your source.
What Is The Difference Between an S/N & S/P Kinkade Edition?
You want to start a collection of Thomas Kinkade artwork, yet when you start your search you see s/n, a/p, g/p, e/p, p/p, r/e, s/p etc... All of it can be very confusing for the uninitiated.
Essentially they begin by most affordable and largest quantity made up to most collectable and smallest quantity made. Some are limited to only being sold from a Signature Gallery. And some have additional textures and extra highlighting & the top of the line has highlighting done by the master himself, Thomas Kinkade. I will list the editions below starting with the most affordable and working up to the most collectable.
Classics - These are not limited editions, and they can produce as many as they want. Classics are not highlighted, they are produced on a hard board canvas & they will not appreciate in value. They are meant simply to be decorative. They are typically not produced until a piece is sold out in canvas.
*Note - S/N thru P/P are all highlighted equally, the difference is where they can be sold and how many are produced, and in the case of the Gallery Proof, there is a gold foil indicia.
S/N - Standard Numbered (formerly known as Signed & Numbered
but after 1997 Thom no longer signed all the pieces himself it was done
with an auto pen in part to protect the signature with newly available DNA
encoded ink, & in part because he couldn't keep up with all the signing that
needed to be done & still have time to paint. Standard numbered are the most
affordable & also the largest edition size.
A/P - Artist Proof - In the art world people have come to know this piece as the one the artist hand highlights. This is not the case in Kinkade's world. The artist proof is produced the same as the s/n only fewer of them are made. A/P is $160.00 more than an S/N.
G/P - Only sold at Signature Galleries, has a gold foil indicia in the corner. Fewer pieces produced then the S/N, slightly more produced then an A/P, but because of they are limited to Signature Galleries a Gallery Proof tends to sell out first.. however everything is relevant & no rule is 100%. A Gallery Proof is $160.00 more than a S/N.
E/P - Examination Proof - Started around the year 2000, Thomas Kinkade Company sends out an Examination Proof to the galleries approximately one month ahead of release. This is to give the collectors a sneak peak of the upcoming release and allow the gallery to take orders on them. Typically E/P's are in quantities of 500, however this has varied depending on the painting. Again, the only difference from the S/N is the edition size, and the availability of being released early. E/P's have varied in price and quantity made over the years, but typically they are $210.00 more than an S/N.
P/P - Early on one of the founders of Media Arts Group, (Thomas Kinkade Company was formerly Media Arts Group) owned some galleries of their own in California. The company produced the Publisher Proof and it was limited to these galleries. However as dealers grew across the country the company had to stop that practice and Publisher Proofs were allowed to be sold in Signature Galleries. A P/P is typically $200 more than a S/N and is the smallest edition size of the affordable paintings. At this point we start into the high end editions.
I/P - International Proof, as Kinkade grew they wanted to expand internationally. By doing an I/P they were able to produce pieces for the international market that allowed them to have some pieces that were sold out here in the states. It also gave them a different price point & a few bells and whistles that we didn't have here stateside. They got a watermark on the back & a gold foil stamp in the front corner. But the price point was a few hundred more for the piece. They are only distributed outside the U.S.
A/N - For a few years Thomas Kinkade Company made A/N's these are otherwise known as Giclee's. It is a different process to make the piece. The A/N's didn't go over very well because the price points were to close to the R/E and the R/E gave you a textured piece that closely resembled an original. The A/N's were phased out after just a few years of production and very few images were released in them.
R/E - Renaissance Edition is a special reserve edition created with a textured brushstroke process that recreates the artist's actual brushwork. It is then finished in oil by a master highlighter and a special "Watermark Remarque" is applied to the verso side of the canvas. After Thom reviews the piece he will then hand sign the piece on the front. Due to the exclusivity of these rare pieces all Renaissance Editions are limited to Signature Galleries. A Renaissance is typically 3 times the cost of a S/N, however there is a large visable difference between an R/E and anything lower. After April 2012 the Renaissance Edition became the Estate Edition
S/P - Studio Proof canvas reproduction is created with a textured brushstroke process that recreates the artist's actual brushwork. It is then finished in oil by a master highlighter who inscribes an original and identifying remarque on the back of the canvas under the artist's close supervision. Upon satisfactory completion Thomas Kinkade applies the final highlights himself, and hand signs the front of the canvas in metallic ink. Lastly a foil stamped gold Studio Proof seal is applied to the back. The letters S/P designates each Studio Proof after the print number. Due t the exclusivity of this piece, all Studio Proofs are limited to distribution through Thomas Kinkade Signature Galleries. Each piece features an original sketch by the artist especially created for the rendering. This sketch is applied by Thom's apprentice highlighter. *Note - S/P's produced before 1998 do not have the textured brushstrokes, as the technology to reproduce Thoms brushstrokes was not available at the time. They were however hand highlighted by Thom & he did a sketch and signed them on the back. The Studio Proof stopped in April 2012
Interesting side note on the Studio Proof. When the first Thomas Kinkade Gallery was started it was located in Carmel CA, an exclusive community near Pebble Beach. Carmel had by laws that required an art gallery to only sell originals. Thom wanted to keep his originals for himself. So they came up with the Studio Proof and dubbed it a "Semi-Original" because Thom did some hand highlighting on them. This allowed them to start the first Thomas Kinkade Signature Gallery.
And now the most exclusive edition outside of the original of course. The M/E - Masters Edition. Today a Masters Edition is limited to one piece per size per image. In years past there were sometimes more produced, but always a small quantity. A Masters Edition is a piece that Thom entirely repaints just for you. And because there is only one per size of the current releases, it makes it the most collectable. A Masters runs anywhere from $8,000 to $54,000.00 depending on the size. Very exclusive piece, very few around. The Masters Edition stopped in April 2012
Originals have not been sold since 1997. Clearing Storms was the last original sold, all the rest have gone into Thom's museum. We have Morro Bay at Sunset an Original Oil on Canvas consigned for resale.
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