Crown Point Press

Crown Point Press
Name	Crown Point Press
Established	1962
Founder	Kathan Brown
Headquarters	San Francisco, California
Focus	Fine art printmaking, etching, aquatint, lithography, mezzotint

Crown Point Press is an artist-run printmaking atelier and publisher based in San Francisco known for producing limited-edition intaglio and relief prints with prominent contemporary artists. Founded in the early 1960s, the studio became a locus for collaborations among painters, sculptors, and international figures in visual art, consolidating ties to institutions, museums, galleries, and academic programs across the United States and Europe. The press developed technical innovations in etching and aquatint while fostering long-term relationships with artists whose careers intersect with major movements, exhibitions, and collections.

History

Crown Point Press emerged amid the postwar modern and contemporary art milieu that included ties to San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Museum of Modern Art, Tate Gallery, Whitney Museum of American Art, and regional centers such as Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Throughout the 1960s, 1970s, and beyond, the press maintained collaborations with figures associated with Abstract Expressionism, Minimalism, Pop Art, Conceptual Art, and later Contemporary Art networks. The studio operated alongside other prominent print workshops like Tamarind Institute, Petersen Graphics, and UCLA Printmaking Program, participating in exhibitions, biennales, and partnerships with collectors, foundations, and university museums.

Founding and Early Years

Kathan Brown founded the press in 1962 after experiential ties to printmaking communities and exchanges with artists from New York City, Los Angeles, and Paris. Early interactions included artists who had exhibited at Gagosian Gallery, Leo Castelli Gallery, Galerie Maeght, and regional galleries such as Rena Bransten Gallery. The press’s early editions reflected relationships with artists involved in exhibitions at the San Francisco Art Institute, California College of the Arts, and national art fairs. Initial projects aligned the atelier with patrons, trustees, and curators from institutions including the National Gallery of Art and the Getty Research Institute.

Artistic Program and Techniques

The press specialized in intaglio processes—etching, aquatint, soft-ground, and aquatint biting—alongside lithography and mezzotint, working to adapt these techniques for the languages of artists such as painters, sculptors, and printmakers associated with Frank Stella, Richard Diebenkorn, Wayne Thiebaud, Ed Ruscha, and Chuck Close. Collaborative printmaking at Crown Point frequently integrated approaches demonstrated in major museum retrospectives and technical publications from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bibliothèque nationale de France, and conservation departments at academic institutions. The studio also experimented with paper types and inks sourced through connections with European workshops in Florence, London, and Berlin that serviced artists linked to Lucian Freud, Anselm Kiefer, and Francis Bacon.

Notable Artists and Collaborations

Over decades the press produced editions with an array of artists and notable cultural figures, intersecting with creators represented by Pace Gallery, David Zwirner, Hauser & Wirth, and curatorial programs at The Phillips Collection. Collaborators have included artists whose careers connect to exhibitions at the Venice Biennale, the Documenta cycle in Kassel, and major national retrospectives: names associated with these circuits include John Baldessari, Joan Mitchell, Kara Walker, Brice Marden, Sol LeWitt, Louise Bourgeois, Yayoi Kusama, and Edgar Degas in reference to historical prints that influenced contemporary practice. The press also worked with emerging and mid-career artists linked to university galleries, regional biennials, and artist residencies at institutions such as Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley, and Yale School of Art.

Publications and Editions

Crown Point issued catalogues, edition lists, and monographs accompanying print releases, collaborating with writers, curators, and critics connected to publications at Artforum, Art in America, The Burlington Magazine, October (journal), and major museum catalogues. Editions were often acquired by collections at Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and university museums including Yale University Art Gallery and Princeton University Art Museum. The press's publication practice paralleled projects undertaken by other historic ateliers and private presses documented in bibliographies from Getty Publications and academic presses.

Facilities and Workshops

Situated in San Francisco, the press maintained etching presses, mezzotint rollers, and lithography stones, and curated a workshop environment akin to studios at Tamarind and institutional print shops at UCLA. The facility hosted visiting artists, assistants, master printers, and technicians who had trained in studios across Rome, Paris, Tokyo, and New York City. Crown Point’s workspace enabled cross-generational mentorships linking master printers with artists who taught at Cooper Union, Rhode Island School of Design, Pratt Institute, and state arts programs supported by agencies like the National Endowment for the Arts.

Impact and Legacy

The press’s legacy is visible in museum collections, catalogue raisonnés, and the careers of artists whose print oeuvres intersect with major exhibitions at the Guggenheim Museum, Centre Pompidou, National Gallery, London, and survey exhibitions across continents. Its model influenced subsequent studios and university-based print programs, contributing to scholarship and conservation practices documented in training programs at Tamarind Institute and curriculum at art schools. Crown Point’s archives, editions, and publications remain reference points for curators, collectors, and historians tracing trajectories between printmaking, studio practice, and institutional exhibition histories.

Category:Art press publishing