Best of Brit Art up for auction

Early prints by some of the best-known proponents of Brit Art are to be sold at Christie's in London on April 3 when the influential Paragon Press, founded in 1986 by Charles Booth-Clibborn, hopes to raise more than £500,000 to enable it to move to larger premises.

The 120 prints will include works by Anish Kapoor, Damien Hirst, Marc Quinn and the Chapman brothers, all of whom started their printmaking careers with Paragon. There will also be prints by Richard Long, Rachel Whiteread and Peter Doig (his 'Big Sur', 2000/01 is pictured above).

The collection consists of rare artist's proofs, publisher's proofs and small editions that sold out almost immediately. Several of the artists have personalised their works, with hand colouring, specifically for the Christie's sale. Estimates range from £500 for single prints to £40,000 for complete portfolios such as Hirst's The Last Supper.

Booth-Clibborn said recently: "When artists try their hand at printmaking they invariably love it and don't see any difference or hierarchy between their prints or work in other media."

For non-Brit Art enthusiasts, there's an alternative at Christie's the previous night: works by Rembrandt, Durer, Picasso, Miro and Matisse will be available in a print sale on April 2 expected to raise in excess of £3m.