The volume published by Harry N. Abrams and Éditions Cercle d’Art was directly based upon the original, full-sized, and highly exclusive linocut prints that Picasso created between 1958 and 1961. Those original, large-format works had been printed in the South of France by master printer Hidalgo Arnéra and issued in extremely limited, hand-signed editions of only 50 impressions each through the Galerie Louise Leiris in Paris.
Pablo Picasso’s late-career obsession with a humble printmaking technique, the linocut (short for linoleum cut), a form of relief printmaking. Invented in the early 20th century, linocutting was originally viewed as a cheap, elementary alternative to traditional woodcut printmaking. Instead of fine art, it was mostly used for industrial floor coverings, amateur hobby crafts, and schoolroom art projects. What attracted Pablo Picasso to the linocut process—and what made him completely fall in love with it in his late 70s—was a mixture of creative liberation, speed, and the sheer thrill of technical danger. Setting up a linocut studio locally in Vallauris with master printer Hidalgo Arnéra gave Picasso total independence. He could carve a block, walk into the next room to print a proof, adjust his design immediately, and even wash completed sheets himself. This helped with Picasso’s logistical challenges of traditional lithography, which required heavy stones to be shipped back and forth to Paris.
Yet, Picasso found carving multiple blocks tedious and prone to alignment errors. To solve this, he and master printer Hidalgo Arnéra pioneered the reduction method—often called the “suicide block” technique because there is absolutely no room for error. Instead of multiple blocks, Picasso used just one single piece of linoleum to layer up to a dozen colors. What happened was that by the end of the process, the physical linoleum block was completely hollowed out and destroyed. This meant the edition could never be reprinted, turning a mass-production, “humble” industrial material into a medium capable of creating highly complex, unrepeatable masterpieces.
The story of the Picasso linocuts book—most famously the landmark 1962 edition titled Picasso: Linoleum Cuts (or Picasso Linogravures) published by Harry N. Abrams and Éditions Cercle d’Art is that it was produced under Picasso’s direct supervision, features exceptional West German craftsmanship that mimics the texture of original relief prints, and acts as a gateway for collectors to own authorized, display-worthy Picasso artwork at a fraction of the cost of his five-figure original prints. The original blocks were meticulously recreated and scaled down to 42% of their original size to build an exquisite, intimate collection of 45 colored plates.
Unlike modern digital offset prints, the 1962 plates were printed in West Germany on heavy wove paper. Because full-sized, signed Picasso linocuts command tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars at major auction houses like Christie’s, art dealers frequently buy intact copies of the 1962 book to “break” them apart. They remove, mat, and frame the 45 individual plates to sell them as standalone gallery pieces. The big key is that 1962 edition carries massive historical prestige because Picasso was directly involved in validating and endorsing its production; an ultimate prize for collectors.
In the secondary art market, there is a massive pricing divide between an intact 1962 book and the individual plates broken out and sold as standalone artwork. When these 1962 plates are treated like “museum pieces”—meaning they are professionally conservation-framed and sold through high-end galleries—their prices surge significantly.
The breakdown of what these pieces cost on the secondary market depends on how they are sold:
1. The Complete, Intact 1962 Book
If you buy the complete, bound Picasso: Linoleum Cuts book (containing all 45 plates) in its original cloth binding and slipcase, it typically commands between $1,500 and $3,500 at standard book and art auctions. The price fluctuates based on the condition of the fragile cardboard slipcase and whether any light foxing (age spots) has leaked onto the edges of the heavy wove paper plates.
2. Loose Individual Plates (Raw & Unframed)
When an art dealer or collector “breaks” an incomplete or damaged book, the individual raw plates are sold by subject on online platforms.
- Standard Subjects (Bullfights, Bacchanals, Still Lifes): These generally sell for $200 to $450 each.
- Highly Desirable Subjects (Portraits of Jacqueline Roque): Portraits of Picasso’s wife or intricate multicolored faces are highly sought after and command $500 to $900 raw.
3. The “Museum Piece” Treatment (Framed Gallery Pricing)
When these exact same 1962 book plates are curated by high-end art galleries (such as those on 1stdibs or Chairish), they are elevated into museum-quality displays.
By floating the plate on acid-free matting to showcase the authentic, raw deckled edges of the 1962 paper and housing it behind museum-grade UV-protective plexiglass, galleries completely transform the presentation. In this environment, a single plate from the book regularly sells for $1,200 to $3,500+. Buyers willingly pay this premium because the professional framing alone can cost several hundred dollars, and the final presentation is indistinguishable from a fine art gallery masterpiece.
The Ultimate Contrast: Book Plates vs. Signed Master Originals
To understand why the 1962 book plates are considered such an incredible value, look at what the original, full-sized, hand-signed editions of 50 cost in the elite art market; The original full sheets are massive standardizing around 29 ½ x 24 ½ inches (approximately 750 x 620 mm). Within these broad margins, the actual printed image areas typically measure around 25 x 21 inches (640 x 530 mm):
- An original, full-sized 1962 Buste de Femme au Chapeau linocut fetched $461,617 at Christie’s.
- A highly celebrated 1958 linocut portrait sold for $728,000 at Phillips New York.
- Standard hand-signed originals trade reliably between $140,000 and $235,000
Because the 1962 book plates were printed using actual relief blocks authorized by Picasso and capture the same physical textures, paying $2,000 for a museum-framed book plate allows collectors to own a stunning piece of Picasso history at less than 1% of the cost of a signed master original.
Verifying whether a loose plate is an authentic 1962 Harry N. Abrams / Éditions Cercle d’Art first edition or a later, less valuable reissue (such as the widespread 1980s programmatic reprints) comes down to physical measurements, paper weight, and the unique tactile texture of the ink.
The 1962 First Edition: Printed on exceptionally thick, premium heavy wove paper. Because it is over 60 years old, you will routinely find natural signs of age including faint yellowing (toning) at the extreme edges or tiny brown spots known as foxing. The later reprints, usually printed on much thinner, lightweight book paper or bright, artificially stark white modern paper that shows zero natural aging. Authentic 1962 plates are frequently cataloged or sold as “Linocuts after the original” or “From the 1962 Abrams Suite.” If the description explicitly states “After the 1962 edition,” that means it is a copy of the book plate, confirming it is a modern reissue.
Pablo Picasso did occasionally hand-sign a very small selection of plates from the 1962 edition during book launches, gallery visits, or as personal gifts for friends, publishers, and important collectors. When Picasso added a “live signature” to a 1962 book plate, it fundamentally altered the piece’s status, elevating into a unique, high-value hybrid asset. When Picasso signed these specific book plates, he rarely used a standard pencil. Instead, he favored colored crayons or wax pencils—most famously in vibrant red, green, blue, or thick purple. He would typically sign his name boldly in the wide white margin just below the lower right corner of the printed image. Because of the immense price jump, unsigned 1962 plates are a primary target for forgery. If you are looking at a plate that has a live signature, it is highly recommended to check for provenance from an established estate expert or fine art auction house to ensure the signature is genuine. A hand-signed version of that exact same plate regularly sells on the secondary market for $5,000 to $15,000+.
In general, the plates inside the 1962 book were not hand-signed or numbered by Picasso. But, some designs feature a signature and date mirrored backward inside the image. This is normal. it simply means Picasso carved his signature directly into the master block, and it transferred during printing.