What Are Some Popular Jasper Johns Prints Among Collectors?
Johns always referred to the printmaking process as a way to “explore mediums.” His most valuable prints on the market are his unique monotype works, as well as his Flags series, renowned for their iconic status, which has become synonymous with Johns’ artistic legacy. Below are three of Johns’ top-selling prints on the market:
Untitled (1983): This piece is one of 18 unique monotypes created by Johns in 1983, showcasing his mastery of the crosshatching technique. In this series, Johns uses intersecting lines to create rich shading, depth, and texture with remarkable precision. Working with mylar plates rather than traditional glass surfaces, Johns faced the challenge of controlling fluid ink to maintain consistent lines and spacing–a demanding task in monotype printing. With its eight-foot span Johns’ needed to prepare several mylar plates to pass through the printing press. With Johns’ signature primary colour palette, this work fetched £1.8 million at Sotheby’s in 2018.
Flags I: Johns’ most iconic symbol, the American flag, is one he revisited repeatedly throughout his artistic career, reinterpreting it through various mediums. This multicoloured diptych departs from the typical flat colour associated with the screenprinting process, instead presenting a deceptively textured surface that adds depth and dimension. These works are among the highest valued in Johns’ print market, with the record result achieving £1.1 million at Christie’s in April 2016.
Savarin: Blending his signature crosshatching motif with the paintbrush-filled Savarin can, this extremely limited work has its origins in a series of proofs initially created for the 1981 lithograph edition of the same subject (ULAE 220). These proofs were rejected due to variations in paper tone. While many artists might have destroyed the proofs, Johns, ever the innovator, revisited the lithographic plate and used it for a series of monotypes. This particular piece is a lithographic monotype impression, one of two, and sold for £1.2 million at Sotheby’s.
