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Art Glossary



Abstract

Abstract art is a style of art that depends on depends on internal form rather than pictorial representation.
Antique Print

Antique prints are pages taken from antique books on botany, natural history, and other subjects which are now collected as artwork.
Art Deco

Art Deco is a style popularized in the 1920’s and 1930’s, it is characterized by repetitive geometric patterns.
Attributed to

“Attributed to” is a designation that a work is from a particular artist (if a noted expert assesses a high likelihood that the work is by that artist but can not confirm it).
Catalogue Raisonne

A catalogue raisonne is a sort resume or curriculum vitae for an artist: a complete listing of all known works of a particular artist, providing photographs of each work and details on them.
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Daguerreotype

A Daguerreotype is an early type of photograph which was produced on a silver or copper plate.
Digital Art

Digital art is created by graphic and digital artists on computer.
Drawings

eBay category that includes antique, modern, and contemporary drawings in various media such as pencil, pen/ink, charcoal, pastel.
Etching

Etching is a printing process in which an image is transferred from a metal plate onto paper.
Folk Art

Folk art is typically created by artists who are not formally trained. It is often primitive in nature and is an expression of the artist’s cultural roots. (eBay category)
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Giclee

Giclee is a modern printing method that produces high quality copies of an image; often used to print a replica of a painting on canvas.
Impressionism

Impressionism is a style that is characterized by discontinuous brush strokes to create the effect of a particular images, it is most associated with the works of Monet, Degas, and Renoir.
Limited-Edition/Open-Edition

These editions are a type of a print indicates the number of printings for it. Limited-editions are prints whose runs are limited in number, while open-edition prints have an unlimited run.
Lithograph

Lithograph is a generic term for any print rendered on a flat surface that is made of either stone or metal.
Mixed Media

Mixed Media is an art that uses various media, including some that may not appear in more “traditional” artwork, such as crushed glass or paper. Here you can find such imaginative pieces as collages or multi-dimensional paintings. (eBay category)
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Outsider Art

Outsider Art is art that is created by artists who generally consider themselves out of the mainstream and/or are not formally trained. Outsider Art has many similarities to Folk Art and is often used to describe Folk Art.
Photographic Images (Photography)

Photographs ranging from classic black-and-white to stunning colour, from antique and vintage, to contemporary. (eBay category)
Photogravure

Photogravure is a process by which a photograph is used to produce a plate for printing.
Pop Art

Pop Art is best associated with Warhol and Lichtenstein; it is a style of art that utilizes images from commonplace items that are iconic in pop culture.
Posters

This eBay category ranges from original vintage-style posters to contemporary posters of today’s hottest movies, rock stars, and celebrities.
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Prints

This eBay category includes antique botanical, natural history, and costume prints, limited-edition lithographs, serigraphs, and etchings, and open-edition prints.
Provenance

Provenance is the complete history of ownership and/or exhibitions for a work of art.
Realism

Realism is a style of art whose aim is to depict images in as realistic a manner as possible.
Sculpture and Carvings

This eBay category includes sculptures of all shapes and sizes, made from bronze, stone, marble, wood, and other materials.
Self-Representing Artists

eBay category that showcases new and up-and-coming artists whose works span various media and forms.
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Serigraph/Silkscreen

Serigraph and silkscreen are printing methods in which special paint is applied onto the paper through a fine screen.
Surrealism

Surrealism is a style of art popularized in the early 20th century that sought to depict images from dreams and fantasies.
Tintype

Tintype is an early method of producing photographs considered relatively quick and easy, it was used in the 19th century for lockets, brooches, and paper mounts.
Vintage/Vintage-style poster

Vintage and vintage-style posters once used in advertising various things such as food and wine, travel, entertainment, and goods, they are now sought after as artwork.
Woodcut

Woodcut printing is a method in which the design is carved onto a piece of wood and inked.
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