40th annual Fine Print Fair arrives at the Cleveland Art Museum 

The Print Club of Cleveland will celebrate its 40th annual Fine Print Fair from April 25 to 27, showcasing a wide range of printmaking styles in one of the few, large-scale art fairs of its kind in the country.

Located in the Ames Family Atrium in the Cleveland Museum of Art, the fair features 15 art dealers from throughout the country and is free and open to the public.

At the event, attendees can view prints, shop, talk to dealers, learn about art and check out demonstrations put on by local universities and art studios. 

The print art available has a wide variety for shoppers to explore, with prices ranging from $50 to thousands of dollars.  Some of the art is 500-years-old, while others are fresh off the printer. 

The fair is a collaboration between CMA and the Print Club of Cleveland, which Pete Dobbins, a 15-year member of the Print Club and the chair of the event, says is a great partnership that has worked well in providing an attractive space for the event.

“It’s a fantastic place to have it,” Dobbins said. “The museum has been great to work with and it’s a great space to show the art with the light coming into the atrium. It’s really nice.” 

One of the unique aspects of the fair, according to Dobbins, is that it is one of the few print fairs in the country that offers such a range in art styles amongst dealers, from the renaissance to contemporary and modern works. This year, four new dealers will be joining the fair, all looking forward to greeting guests and starting up conversations about the art. 

“All the dealers are curated by our curators, so you know that they have quality art, you can trust them and they’re nice,” Dobbins said. “That’s one of the really unique things about our fair. The dealers are nice and really look forward to coming.”

The history in 40 years 

The Print Fair was originally founded by Jane Glaubinger, a previous member of Print Club, as an annual event hosted by Print Club of Cleveland. It is one of the few fine print fairs in the Midwest. 

Emily Peters, a curator of prints and drawings at the CMA, saysthat the print club was founded in 1919, with a mission of providing opportunities for print collectors to grow and share their collection. 

“They were actually founded before the print department was founded at the CMA,” Peters says. “Their whole mission has always been to promote print appreciation and also to support the CMA and the print department. The fair seemed to be a real opportunity to bring some print dealers to Cleveland.”

The fair wasn’t always hosted at the CMA, however. When it began, it bounced around between a few different locations such as libraries and Case Western Reserve University. The CMA, however, has proved in recent years to be a perfect location to attract additional passersby. 

“Just by virtue of the location, it’s a place that many visitors pass through as they’re entering the museum,” Peters says. “A lot of people incidentally find themselves browsing and there’s always a really good crowd.” 

This crowd has grown in the past two years, according to Peters, who added that while she would hope to build on that momentum, they are limited in space. 

“If we have this vision of getting bigger, we might need to slightly rethink how we conceptualize the space that we have available to us,” she says. “But that’s something that would be in the future.”

For those interested in joining the festivities, the fair is kicking off this Thursday, April 24 with a preview party from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Ames Family Atrium, which will raise funds for the continuation of the event. 

The print fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Dobbins assures those who are intimidated that everyone, including those who are new to the world of art, are welcome. 

“Don’t be afraid of art,” Dobbins says. “Some people tend to be afraid to ask things about art. This is the kind of place where they can ask about the art, how things are made and what makes it special. Good art is whatever you like.”