We use the Fine Art Print Grading system by Heritage Auctions to give an indication of what we beleive a piece of artwork to be. We try our best to give a fair representation and offer as life like images on our site to try and allow you to be the best judge as grading just like beauty can be in the eye of the beholder.
We would like to credit HA for the following information from their website as linked above.
| 10/10 | Mint | No damage to the print surface |
| 9/10 | Excellent | Mild condition issues that are barely perceptible to the naked eye |
| 8/10 | Very Fine (VF) | Mild or moderate condition issues visible under very close inspection or under raking light |
| 7/10 | Fine (F) | Mild or moderate condition issues that attract the eye under gallery lighting conditions |
| 6/10 | Very Good (VG) | Moderate or mild condition issues that attract the eye under normal viewing conditions |
| 5/10 | Good (G) | Moderate or severe issues that attract the eye under normal viewing conditions and disrupt the image |
| 4/10 | Fair | Moderate or severe condition issues that are immediately apparent and significantly detract from the overall look of the work |
| 3/10 | Poor | Work has severe condition issues and some may be beyond repair |
| 2/10 | Very Poor | Work has significant severe condition issues and beyond repair |
| 1/10 | Unsellable | Work is not suitable for resale |
We consider grades 1-3 as one for the purposes of selling so that even if an item is damaged, Its rarity may mean it is still worth offering for sale, otherwise we would not consider the item good enough to add to our online catalogue
The following are condition states and issues the Heritage Auctions fine art grading system takes into account.
MILD CONDITION ISSUES
Surface soiling
Handling creases
Buckling
Stray ink
Adhesive residue or staining
MODERATE CONDITION ISSUES
Colors attenuated
Light / time staining
Backboard staining
Skinning to margins
Losses to sheet / sheet has margins trimmed / tears to the sheet
Creases to image
Some specks of foxing / mold
Staining
Previous restoration
Mat burns
SEVERE CONDITION ISSUES
Colors faded
Losses to image / tears to the image
Obtrusive rubbing to image
Skinning to image
Brittleness
If you have any questions about grading please get in touch with us through our contact us page.
