Stephen Lyman

Auction listings show what a paper print from his lifetime looks like. A 1989 Color in the Snow is described as an offset lithograph with the signature printed in the plate, signed again in pencil at bottom left and numbered 917/1500. A 1994 North Country Shores is signed at lower left and numbered 2193/3000.^3,4

The same picture can exist on paper and on canvas in very different editions. His publisher lists Wilderness Welcome as a paper print in an edition of 8,500 and as a MasterWork Anniversary Edition on canvas in an edition of 389.^13,5

Some offset prints carry only a printed signature. An auction house cataloged one copy of A Walk in the Woods as “after Stephen Lyman”, signed and dated in the plate, and mentions no signature by hand.¹²

His publisher’s general rule is that each print in an edition is inspected and signed by the artist and then numbered consecutively. No source read says whether any edition was published after his death, or how such prints would be signed.¹⁴

Artist’s proofs exist on both paper and canvas. For Warmed by the View a dealer lists an artist’s proof edition of 75 on paper and one of 25 on canvas, each with a certificate of authenticity.^15,16

The publisher describes offset lithography as a photomechanical or digital printing technique, and lists giclée printing on paper and on canvas as separate techniques.¹⁴

[editions published after his death, and how they are signed, not confirmed]

[publisher’s blind stamp or seal not confirmed]

[issue prices and release years not confirmed]