Hand-Coloured Lithograph Art Prints

4.8

Before colour printing existed, plates were tinted by hand, one at a time, which is why these images still glow rather than sit flat. The tradition runs deepest in natural history, from the iridescent detail of hummingbird art prints to the ambitious folios behind John Gould bird art prints and the drama of Audubon bird art prints. Pick a plate whose palette answers a colour already in your room.

Rated 4.8 by 1,000s of customers
Hummingbird Art Prints
Hummingbird Art Prints
John Gould Bird Art Prints
John Gould Bird Art Prints
Audubon Bird Art Prints
Audubon Bird Art Prints
Vintage Bird Art Prints
Vintage Bird Art Prints
Bird Illustration Art Prints
Bird Illustration Art Prints
Birds on a Branch Art Prints
Birds on a Branch Art Prints
Minimalist Bird Art Prints
Minimalist Bird Art Prints
Japanese Bird Art Prints
Japanese Bird Art Prints
Chinoiserie Bird Art Prints
Chinoiserie Bird Art Prints
Australian Bird Art Prints
Australian Bird Art Prints
Natural History Art Prints
Natural History Art Prints
Bird Canvas Prints
Bird Canvas Prints
Fraser's Barbed throat by John Gould Art Print Brown

Fraser's Barbed-throat by John Gould Art Print

From £11.95 £19.95
Scintillant Hummingbird by Gould Art Print Oak

Scintillant Hummingbird by Gould Art Print

From £11.95 £19.95
Black billed Sicklebill by John Gould Art Print Brown

Black-billed Sicklebill by John Gould Art Print

From £11.95 £19.95
Magnificent Bird of Paradise by Gould Art Print Brown

Magnificent Bird of Paradise by Gould Art Print

From £11.95 £19.95
Empress Hummingbird by John Gould Art Print Brown

Empress Hummingbird by John Gould Art Print

From £11.95 £19.95
Pennant's Parakeet by John Gould Art Print Brown

Pennant's Parakeet by John Gould Art Print

From £11.95 £19.95
Sword billed Hummingbird by John Gould Art Print Brown

Sword-billed Hummingbird by John Gould Art Print

From £11.95 £19.95
Allen's Hummingbird Antique Plate Art Print Brown

Allen's Hummingbird Antique Plate Art Print

From £11.95 £19.95
Festive Coquette Birds by John Gould Art Print Oak

Festive Coquette Birds by John Gould Art Print

From £11.95 £19.95
Delicate Owl by John Gould Art Print Brown

Delicate Owl by John Gould Art Print

From £11.95 £19.95
Rivoli's Hummingbird by John Gould Art Print Brown

Rivoli's Hummingbird by John Gould Art Print

From £11.95 £19.95
Slender Shear Tail Hummingbirds by Gould Art Print Oak

Slender Shear-Tail Hummingbirds by Gould Art Print

From £11.95 £19.95

More Fab art curations

John Gould Bird Canvas Prints
John Gould Bird Canvas Prints
Audubon Bird Canvas Prints
Audubon Bird Canvas Prints
Vintage Bird Canvas Prints
Vintage Bird Canvas Prints
Hand-Coloured Engraving Art Prints
Hand-Coloured Engraving Art Prints
Botanical Illustration Art Prints
Botanical Illustration Art Prints
William Morris Bird Art Prints
William Morris Bird Art Prints
Folk Art Bird Prints
Folk Art Bird Prints
Whimsical Bird Art Prints
Whimsical Bird Art Prints
Peacock Art Prints
Peacock Art Prints
Parrot Art Prints
Parrot Art Prints
Butterfly Art Prints
Butterfly Art Prints
Bird Art Prints
Bird Art Prints
Animal Art Prints
Animal Art Prints

Buying hand-coloured prints: FAQs

Short answers on colour and character, framed versus unframed, delivery and changing your mind

Need more help? Contact our team here

What is a hand-coloured lithograph?

A lithograph is an image printed from a stone or plate onto paper. In a hand-coloured lithograph, the printed image comes off the press in monochrome and colour is then applied by hand with watercolours, often following a single coloured master print as a guide. The method was popular in the Victorian era because it gave soft, subtle tones. Reproductions like these recreate that look for everyday wall display.

What's the difference between an art print and a lithograph?

"Lithograph" describes a specific printing process, where the image is transferred from a prepared stone or metal plate onto paper. "Art print" is the broader term for any printed artwork, whatever the method. So a lithograph is one kind of art print. What we offer are modern decorative reproductions of lithographic imagery, printed for wall display rather than produced on antique stones.

How is hand colouring different from colour lithography?

Hand colouring means a monochrome print was tinted afterwards by hand, usually in watercolour, which is why tones look soft and slightly uneven. Colour lithography, including chromolithography, builds the colour into the printing itself by running the sheet through multiple inked stones or plates. Artists such as Toulouse-Lautrec pushed colour lithography forward around 1890. Hand-coloured imagery tends to read as gentler and more antique.