Picasso 347 Series

Park West Gallery^® holds the world's largest collection of works from the 347 Series

• In April of 1999, Park West Gallery purchased a complete 347 Series, hand-signed etchings from Sotheby's, New York.
• In 2007, Park West acquired another complete 347 Series, an artist proof suite (epreuve d’artiste) of 17 examples which was purchased directly through (and again authenticated by) Sotheby’s. The price for this suite was significantly more than double the price paid in 1999.
• The 347 Series are among the last hand-signed etchings and engravings Picasso ever created, with each of the original plates being etched or engraved by the hand of Picasso alone. These rare works have fetched very strong prices in the world's auction markets.
• Individual etchings and engravings from the suite have been sold at international auction at six-figure prices:
  • $174,938 (B.1561); 3/2006; Christie's, London
  • $145,500 (B.1635); 4/1998; Sotheby’s, New York
  • $119,958 (B.1481) 3/2006; Christie's, London

About Picasso’s 347 Series

• 347 different etchings, engravings, drypoints
• The last great collection of Picasso graphic works
• The tirage of hand-signed examples consists of 50 numbered examples, plus 17 artist's proof examples
• 66 of the 347 images were also created for a small folio called Tales of Celestine; 400 folios were created, none were hand-signed
• The cancelled plates are with the publisher Galerie Louise Leiris

The complete 347 Series is part of the permanent collection of the following museums and institutions:

• Picasso Museum in Barcelona, Spain
• National Library of Paris, France
• Picasso Museum in Paris, France
• Art Institute of Chicago
• Peter Ludwig de Colonia Museum
• Art Museum of Israel, Jerusalem
• The Gottfried Keller Stiftung of Switzerland

In just seven months (March 16-October 5, 1968) Picasso engaged in a historical battle against the wave of conceptual and theoretical “art” that was the rage in avant-garde circles in the late 1960’s. He rejected the notions of “anyone can be an artist, and anything can be art,” -- the rallying cry of the conceptualists. Picasso resisted not through words, but through a herculean creativity that pointed the way back to aesthetic beauty, technical brilliance, and the narrative of art history: the building blocks of his life and art. It is doubtful that any artist will ever live again who will match this achievement. Consider that Rembrandt made approximately 300 etchings in his lifetime. Picasso made 347 in seven months.

The Market for Picasso 347 Series

Since its creation by Picasso more than 40 years ago the 347 Series has garnered interest by collectors, museums, dealers and historians. Picasso’s devotion and burst of energy into etching and engraving in the last years of his life has been equaled by no other artist. In the last decade, the works have experienced extraordinary attention amongst collectors, resulting in significant increases for the prices for the works at international auctions.

Our competitive pricing and focus on quality presents an excellent opportunity to collect a rare Picasso work.