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Old Masters Animal Prints

OLD MASTERS

Encompassing centuries of change in Europe between 1300 and 1800, from booms of prosperity to bloody revolutions, Old Masters describes a wide range of artists. The informal term was derived from the title of an artist who trained in a guild long enough to become a master, such as Leonardo da Vinci, who studied in a Florence painters’ guild. However, Old Masters paintings, prints and other art is now used to refer to work made by any artist with a high level of skill in painting, drawing, sculpture or printmaking who worked during this era.

The 15th century’s expansive trade and commerce spread culture across borders. A vibrant period of art emerged, bolstered by studies of anatomy and nature that influenced a new visual realism. From Raphael and Michelangelo in the Renaissance to Rembrandt van Rijn and Johannes Vermeer in the Dutch Golden Age, artists expressed emotion, naturalism, color and light in new ways. El Greco and Paolo Veronese were leaders in the dramatic style of Mannerism, while Caravaggio and Peter Paul Rubens demonstrated the movement and meticulous detail of Baroque art.

Historically, most attention was concentrated on male artists, but recent research and exhibitions have elevated the impactful work of women such as Rachel Ruysch and Artemisia Gentileschi. In late-18th-century France, female artists like Adélaïde Labille-Guiard and Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun were prominent names. Nevertheless, access to the academies and guilds was highly restricted for women, and even those able to establish practices were expected to adhere to portraits and still lifes rather than the grand history paintings being created by men.

Find a collection of Old Masters prints, paintings, drawings and watercolors and other art on 1stDibs.

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Style: Old Masters
Le Lévrier  - Etching by Jacques de Sève - 1771

Le Lévrier - Etching by Jacques de Sève - 1771

By Jacques de Seve

Located in Roma, IT

Buffon, Histoire Naturelle, 1767–1771 – Tom. V, Pl. XXVII (p. 300): Le Lévrier Copper engraving depicting Le Lévrier (Greyhound) standing in elegant profile within a landscaped esta...

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1770s Old Masters Animal Prints

Materials

Etching

A Standing Leap at a Gate
A Standing Leap at a Gate

A Standing Leap at a Gate

By James Seymour

Located in Stoke, Hampshire

James Seymour (1702-1752) A Standing Leap at a Gate Mezzotint with hand colouring Image size 10 x 14 in Framed size 16 1/2 x 20 in James Seymour was an English artist renowned for h...

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18th Century Old Masters Animal Prints

Materials

Mezzotint

Classic Bird Color Prints x 3 - Beautiful Set of 3 Classical Birds
Classic Bird Color Prints x 3 - Beautiful Set of 3 Classical Birds

Classic Bird Color Prints x 3 - Beautiful Set of 3 Classical Birds

Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire

Set of 3 Colored Bird Prints each unframed, 10.5 x 14.5 inches condition: very good A beautiful set of 3 colored prints of classical birds in landscape settings. As a set, they make wonderful interior design either presented on their own or as a gallery wall grouping.

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20th Century Old Masters Animal Prints

Materials

Color

Eagle /// Antique Ornithology Bird Saverio Manetti Italian Watercolor Engraving
Eagle /// Antique Ornithology Bird Saverio Manetti Italian Watercolor Engraving

Eagle /// Antique Ornithology Bird Saverio Manetti Italian Watercolor Engraving

By Saverio Manetti

Located in Saint Augustine, FL

Artist: Saverio Manetti (Italian, 1723-1785) Title: "Eagle" (Plate V - 5) Portfolio: Storia Naturale Degli Uccelli (The Natural History of Birds) Year: 1767-1776 Medium: Original Han...

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1760s Old Masters Animal Prints

Materials

Watercolor, Handmade Paper, Laid Paper, Engraving, Intaglio

Captain Mazin Rides, and the Marquis Gives the Lesson /// Equestrian Horse Art
Captain Mazin Rides, and the Marquis Gives the Lesson /// Equestrian Horse Art

Captain Mazin Rides, and the Marquis Gives the Lesson /// Equestrian Horse Art

By William Cavendish

Located in Saint Augustine, FL

Artist: William Cavendish (English, 1593-1676) Title: "Captain Mazin Rides, and the Marquis Gives the Lesson" (Plate 17, page 76) Portfolio: Methode et Invention Nouvelle de Dresser ...

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1730s Old Masters Animal Prints

Materials

Watercolor, Laid Paper, Engraving, Etching, Intaglio

Le Harle Femell (The Female Merganser) /// Ornithology Martinet Bird Animal Art
Le Harle Femell (The Female Merganser) /// Ornithology Martinet Bird Animal Art

Le Harle Femell (The Female Merganser) /// Ornithology Martinet Bird Animal Art

By François Nicolas Martinet

Located in Saint Augustine, FL

Artist: François-Nicolas Martinet (French, 1731-1800) Title: "Le Harle Femell (The Female Merganser)" (Plate 953) Portfolio: Histoire Naturelle Des Oiseaux *Signed by Martinet in the...

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1770s Old Masters Animal Prints

Materials

Watercolor, Laid Paper, Engraving, Intaglio

The Royston Crow (Hooded Crow) /// Thomas Pennant Ornithology Bird Animal Art
The Royston Crow (Hooded Crow) /// Thomas Pennant Ornithology Bird Animal Art

The Royston Crow (Hooded Crow) /// Thomas Pennant Ornithology Bird Animal Art

By Thomas Pennant

Located in Saint Augustine, FL

Artist: Thomas Pennant (Welsh, 1726-1798) Title: "The Royston Crow (Hooded Crow)" (Plate D1) Portfolio: The British Zoology, Class II: Birds Year: 1761-1766 (First edition) Medium: O...

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1760s Old Masters Animal Prints

Materials

Watercolor, Engraving, Laid Paper

Le Canard a Longue Queue (The Long Tailed Duck) /// Ornithology Martinet Bird
Le Canard a Longue Queue (The Long Tailed Duck) /// Ornithology Martinet Bird

Le Canard a Longue Queue (The Long Tailed Duck) /// Ornithology Martinet Bird

By François Nicolas Martinet

Located in Saint Augustine, FL

Artist: François-Nicolas Martinet (French, 1731-1800) Title: "Le Canard a Longue Queue (The Long Tailed Duck)" (Plate 954) Portfolio: Histoire Naturelle Des Oiseaux *Signed by Martin...

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1770s Old Masters Animal Prints

Materials

Watercolor, Laid Paper, Engraving, Intaglio

Ancient Roman Fresco Herculaneum - Original Etching G. Morghen  - 18th Century

Ancient Roman Fresco Herculaneum - Original Etching G. Morghen - 18th Century

By Giovanni Elia Morghen

Located in Roma, IT

Ancient Roman Fresco from the series "Antiquities of Herculaneum", is an original etching on paper realized by Giovanni Morghen in the 18th Century. Signed on the plate. Good condi...

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Late 18th Century Old Masters Animal Prints

Materials

Etching

Putorius & Pseudo Phalangium (The Pole-Cat) (Skunk) /// Mark Catesby Animal Art
Putorius & Pseudo Phalangium (The Pole-Cat) (Skunk) /// Mark Catesby Animal Art

Putorius & Pseudo Phalangium (The Pole-Cat) (Skunk) /// Mark Catesby Animal Art

By Mark Catesby

Located in Saint Augustine, FL

Artist: Mark Catesby (English, 1638-1749) Title: "Putorius & Pseudo Phalangium (The Pole-Cat) (Skunk)" (Plate/Tab 62) Portfolio: Natural History of Carolina, Florida & the Ba...

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1770s Old Masters Animal Prints

Materials

Watercolor, Handmade Paper, Etching, Intaglio

Animal Figures from Ancient Rome - Original Etching by Various Masters - 1750s

Animal Figures from Ancient Rome - Original Etching by Various Masters - 1750s

Located in Roma, IT

Animal Figures from Ancient Rome, from the Antiquities of Herculaneum Exposed is an original etching from the end of the 18th Century, made by Various Old Masters. In very good cond...

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1750s Old Masters Animal Prints

Materials

Etching

Ardea, Nycticorax (Black-crowned Night Heron) /// Dutch Ornithology Bird Animal
Ardea, Nycticorax (Black-crowned Night Heron) /// Dutch Ornithology Bird Animal

Ardea, Nycticorax (Black-crowned Night Heron) /// Dutch Ornithology Bird Animal

By Cornelius Nozeman

Located in Saint Augustine, FL

Artist: Cornelius Nozeman (Dutch, 1720-1786) Title: "Ardea, Nycticorax (Black-crowned Night Heron)" (Plate 78) Portfolio: Nederlandsche Vogelen (Dutch Bird...

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1770s Old Masters Animal Prints

Materials

Watercolor, Laid Paper, Engraving, Intaglio

Human Heads from Ancient Rome - Original Etching by Various Masters - 1750s

Human Heads from Ancient Rome - Original Etching by Various Masters - 1750s

Located in Roma, IT

Human heads from Ancient Rome, from the Series "Antiquities of Herculaneum Exposed", original etching from the end of the 18th Century, made by Various Old Masters. In very good con...

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1750s Old Masters Animal Prints

Materials

Etching

Animal Figures from Ancient Rome - Original Etching by Various Masters - 1750s

Animal Figures from Ancient Rome - Original Etching by Various Masters - 1750s

Located in Roma, IT

Animal Figures from Ancient Rome, from the Series "The Antiquities of Herculaneum Exposed", is anoriginal etching from the end of the 18th century, made by Various Old Masters. In v...

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1750s Old Masters Animal Prints

Materials

Etching

Sacelle male, de la cote de Coromandel /// Ornithology Martinet Bird Animal Art
Sacelle male, de la cote de Coromandel /// Ornithology Martinet Bird Animal Art

Sacelle male, de la cote de Coromandel /// Ornithology Martinet Bird Animal Art

By François Nicolas Martinet

Located in Saint Augustine, FL

Artist: François-Nicolas Martinet (French, 1731-1800) Title: "Sacelle male, de la cote de Coromandel" (Plate 949) Portfolio: Histoire Naturelle Des Oiseaux *Signed by Martinet in the...

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1770s Old Masters Animal Prints

Materials

Watercolor, Laid Paper, Engraving, Intaglio

Alavda sine crista "Lark without a crest"
Alavda sine crista "Lark without a crest"

Alavda sine crista "Lark without a crest"

Located in Middletown, NY

An illustration from an extensive study on larks (De Alaudis) first published in 1555; Historiae animalium is considered one of the foundational texts of modern zoology. Alavda sine...

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16th Century Old Masters Animal Prints

Materials

Ink, Handmade Paper, Laid Paper, Woodcut

Larus, Cinereus (European Herring Gull) /// Dutch Ornithology Bird Animal Print
Larus, Cinereus (European Herring Gull) /// Dutch Ornithology Bird Animal Print

Larus, Cinereus (European Herring Gull) /// Dutch Ornithology Bird Animal Print

By Cornelius Nozeman

Located in Saint Augustine, FL

Artist: Cornelius Nozeman (Dutch, 1720-1786) Title: "Larus, Cinereus (European Herring Gull)" (Plate 101) Portfolio: Nederlandsche Vogelen (Dutch Birds) Year: 1770-1829 Medium: Origi...

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1770s Old Masters Animal Prints

Materials

Watercolor, Engraving, Intaglio, Laid Paper

Corvus, Cornix (Hooded Crow) /// Dutch Ornithology Bird Animal Engraving Print
Corvus, Cornix (Hooded Crow) /// Dutch Ornithology Bird Animal Engraving Print

Corvus, Cornix (Hooded Crow) /// Dutch Ornithology Bird Animal Engraving Print

By Cornelius Nozeman

Located in Saint Augustine, FL

Artist: Cornelius Nozeman (Dutch, 1720-1786) Title: "Corvus, Cornix (Hooded Crow)" (Plate 106) Portfolio: Nederlandsche Vogelen (Dutch Birds) Year: 1770-1829 Medium: Original Hand-Co...

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1770s Old Masters Animal Prints

Materials

Watercolor, Laid Paper, Engraving, Intaglio

Set of Two Hand-Colored Ornithological Engravings by George Edwards /// Bird Art
Set of Two Hand-Colored Ornithological Engravings by George Edwards /// Bird Art

Set of Two Hand-Colored Ornithological Engravings by George Edwards /// Bird Art

By George Edwards

Located in Saint Augustine, FL

Artist: George Edwards (English, 1694-1773) Title: "Set of Two Hand-Colored Ornithological Engravings by George Edwards" (Plates 276, 143) Portfolio: A Natural History of Uncommon Bi...

Category

1740s Old Masters Animal Prints

Materials

Watercolor, Laid Paper, Engraving, Intaglio

Set of Two Hand-Colored Ornithological Engravings by George Edwards /// Bird Art
Set of Two Hand-Colored Ornithological Engravings by George Edwards /// Bird Art

Set of Two Hand-Colored Ornithological Engravings by George Edwards /// Bird Art

By George Edwards

Located in Saint Augustine, FL

Artist: George Edwards (English, 1694-1773) Title: "Set of Two Hand-Colored Ornithological Engravings by George Edwards" (Plates 90, 308) Portfolio: A Natural History of Uncommon Birds, and of Some Other Rare and Undescribed Animals / Gleanings Of Natural History Year: 1743-1764 Medium: Set of Two Original Hand-Colored Engravings on watermarked laid and wove papers Limited edition: Unknown Printer: C. Rickaby, London, UK Publisher: William Gardiner and Messrs. Robinson, London, UK Sheet size (each): approx. 11.25" x 9" Image size (each): approx. 8.63" x 7.38" Reference: Mullens and Swann page 194-195; Anker No. 124-126; Fine Bird Books page 93; Lisney page 128-144; Nissen IVB No. 286-288; Zimmer page 192-198 Condition: "90" has faint offsetting to sheet. "308" has one foxmark center right. They are both otherwise in excellent condition with strong colors Notes: Comes from Edwards seven volume portfolio "A Natural History of Uncommon Birds, and of Some Other Rare and Undescribed Animals" / "Gleanings Of Natural History" (1743-1764), which consists of 362 hand-colored engravings. "90" is on laid paper with a "fleur-de-lis" watermark at center left edge. "308" is on wove paper with no watermark. The last image of the cover title sheets is for reference/provenance; it is not included. Biography: George Edwards FRS (3 April 1694 – 23 July 1773) was an English naturalist and ornithologist, known as the "father of British ornithology". Edwards was born at West Ham...

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1740s Old Masters Animal Prints

Materials

Watercolor, Laid Paper, Engraving, Intaglio

Animal Figures from Ancient Rome - Original Etching by Various Masters - 1750s

Animal Figures from Ancient Rome - Original Etching by Various Masters - 1750s

Located in Roma, IT

Animal Figures from Ancient Rome, from the Series "The Antiquities of Herculaneum Exposed", is anoriginal etching from the end of the 18th century, made by Various Old Masters. In ...

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1750s Old Masters Animal Prints

Materials

Etching

Ferruginous Duck - Colored lithograph on paper 1950s
Ferruginous Duck - Colored lithograph on paper 1950s

Ferruginous Duck - Colored lithograph on paper 1950s

Located in Napoli, IT

Colored silkscreen print on paper with mahogany wood frame

Category

1950s Old Masters Animal Prints

Materials

Paper, Lithograph

Le Millouinan /// Ornithology Martinet Bird Animal Art Duck Natural History
Le Millouinan /// Ornithology Martinet Bird Animal Art Duck Natural History

Le Millouinan /// Ornithology Martinet Bird Animal Art Duck Natural History

By François Nicolas Martinet

Located in Saint Augustine, FL

Artist: François-Nicolas Martinet (French, 1731-1800) Title: "Le Millouinan" (Plate 1002) Portfolio: Histoire Naturelle Des Oiseaux *Signed by Martinet in the plate (printed signatur...

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1770s Old Masters Animal Prints

Materials

Watercolor, Laid Paper, Engraving, Intaglio

Le Rhinocéros/Le Rhinocéros d’Afrique - Etching by Jacques de Sève-18th Century

Le Rhinocéros/Le Rhinocéros d’Afrique - Etching by Jacques de Sève-18th Century

By Jacques de Seve

Located in Roma, IT

Engraving on laid paper, within a ruled border. An engraved zoological plate from Buffon’s monumental Histoire naturelle, depicting two rhinoceroses shown in profile, accompanied by...

Category

18th Century Old Masters Animal Prints

Materials

Etching

Ca. 1578 Old Master Engraving "Siculus" After Jan vander Straet (Strandanus)
Ca. 1578 Old Master Engraving "Siculus" After Jan vander Straet (Strandanus)

Ca. 1578 Old Master Engraving "Siculus" After Jan vander Straet (Strandanus)

By Jan Van der Straet

Located in Chicago, IL

Circa. 1578, Engraving "Siculus" - from the portfolio “The Stables of Don John of Austria” (Equile Austriaci Caroli V)" After Jan van der Straet (Stradanus). An Old Master print from the series of 43 engravings depicting horses of different breeds from the stables of John of Austria (1547-1578), son of Emperor Charles V. Each print shows a horse in the foreground on a hilltop overlooking a distant landscape. Each bears it's title breed, centered upper edge, with two columns of brief explanatory Latin texts in the lower margins. Published by Philips Galle...

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16th Century Old Masters Animal Prints

Materials

Engraving, Paper

Ancient Roman Statues of Sheep - Original Etching - 18th Century

Ancient Roman Statues of Sheep - Original Etching - 18th Century

Located in Roma, IT

Ancient Roman Statues of Sheep, from the series "Antiquities of Herculaneum", is an original etching on paper realized by Anonymous Artist in the 18th century. Monogrammed on the pl...

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18th Century Old Masters Animal Prints

Materials

Etching

Study of Five Heads - Original Etching by J.-J. Boissieu

Study of Five Heads - Original Etching by J.-J. Boissieu

By Jean-Jacques de Boissieu

Located in Roma, IT

Study of Five Heads is a beautiful black and white etching with drypoint interventions on paper, realized at the end of XVIII century by the French artist Jean-Jacques de Boissieu (Lyon, 1736- 1810). Five study of heads of which two profiles (a female and a male) are lightly sketched with the drypoint technique, and we could appreciate the incredible draftsmanship. Instead, the bigger three portraits are very detailed and etched with a superb technique. Although the subjects are drawn in different scales and with different degrees of finish, each portrait has the dignity of a unique piece and the composition is very balanced. In particular on the lower margin at the center there is the portrait of "Le Père Cotrot, Garçon Teinturier à Lyon'", an elderly man, toothless and with a large-nosed, slightly turned to left, with a hat and unbuttoned jacket over waistcoat, shows all his wrinkles in a very realistic way. Signed on plate on lower right margin “De Boissieu”. This old master’s original print with fresh impressions, is in very good conditions, except for a usual yellowing of the paper above all on the edges and some signs of the time and light foxing along the margins, do not affect the image. Jean-Jacques de Boissieu (Lyon,1736 –1810) Jean-Jacques de Boissieu was a French artist studied at the École de Dessin in Lyon, but he was mostly self-taught. His first prints were realized between 1758–64. When he went to Italy in the retinue of the ambassador and Duc de la Rochefoucauld d’Enville, he had the lifechanging encounter: he met Voltaire and he entered in the world of luminaries, he had the opportunity of realizing some plates for the Diderot-d’Alembert’s Encyclopèdie. Then he continued to produce prints in Lyon, Boissieu made many etchings of the Roman and Dutch countryside, as well as the French countryside around Lyon, which earned him a reputation as the last representative of the older etching...

Category

Late 18th Century Old Masters Animal Prints

Materials

Drypoint, Etching

David Brings the Gold Shield to Jerusalem, Renaissance Engraving by Raphael
David Brings the Gold Shield to Jerusalem, Renaissance Engraving by Raphael

David Brings the Gold Shield to Jerusalem, Renaissance Engraving by Raphael

By (after) Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino)

Located in Long Island City, NY

Raphael Sanzio da Urbino, Italian (1483 - 1520) - David Brings the Gold Shield to Jerusalem, Year: 1649, Medium: Engraving on laid paper, plate signed, Size: 9.5 x 11 in. (24.13 x...

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1940s Old Masters Animal Prints

Materials

Engraving

Heads of Animals - Original Etching by John Barlow - 1810

Heads of Animals - Original Etching by John Barlow - 1810

By John Barlow

Located in Roma, IT

Heads of animals is an original artwork realized by John Barlow (1759 - 1810). Original Etching from J.C. Lavater's "Essays on Physiognomy, Designed to promote...

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1810s Old Masters Animal Prints

Materials

Etching

Ancient Roman Statue - Original Etching by Pietro Mangini - 18th Century

Ancient Roman Statue - Original Etching by Pietro Mangini - 18th Century

Located in Roma, IT

Ancient Roman Statue, from the series "Antiquities of Herculaneum", is an original etching on paper realized by Pietro Mangini in the 18th century. Signed on the plate on the lower ...

Category

18th Century Old Masters Animal Prints

Materials

Etching

Ancient Roman Fresco Herculaneum - Original Etching G. Morghen  - 18th Century

Ancient Roman Fresco Herculaneum - Original Etching G. Morghen - 18th Century

By Giovanni Elia Morghen

Located in Roma, IT

Ancient Roman Frescofrom the series "Antiquities of Herculaneum", is an original etching on paper realized by Giovanni Morghen in the 18th Century. Signed on the plate. Good ...

Category

Late 18th Century Old Masters Animal Prints

Materials

Etching

Old Masters animal prints for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Old Masters animal prints available for sale on 1stDibs. Works in this style were very popular during the 20th Century, but contemporary artists have continued to produce works inspired by this movement. If you’re looking to add animal prints created in this style to introduce contrast in an otherwise neutral space in your home, the works available on 1stDibs include elements of blue, orange and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Vincenzo Campana, Giovanni Elia Morghen, Carlo Nolli, and Francesco Cepparuli. Frequently made by artists working with Etching, and Paper and other materials, all of these pieces for sale are unique and have attracted attention over the years. Not every interior allows for large Old Masters animal prints, so small editions measuring 2.76 inches across are also available. Prices for animal prints made by famous or emerging artists can differ depending on medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $11 and tops out at $4,500, while the average work sells for $198.