Nothing can substitute for the experience we've accumulated by dealing with Icart artwork for many years. So do not think that after reading this short tutorial you are an expert. It will still be best to buy from a knowledgeable, reputable dealer or at least consult with one.

       Etchings are made with a copper plate on which the image is engraved. After being inked, it is laid face down on heavy good quality paper and run through a press. The edges of the copper plate will leave an embossed mark around the image, called a "plate impression". Therefore look for a plate impression running about 5/8" from the image.

       The signature is never part of the engraving process, it must be handwritten, usually in pencil, so the second thing to look for is a handwritten signature below the image on the right side.

       In the upper left side (few times in the upper right) you should observe the copyright in black ink between the image and the plate impression.

      Some of the etchings bear an embossed seal in the lower left side. The seal contains a windmill with the initials LI and PARIS below. The seal was developed by the Louis Icart Society in New York and was affixed only on the etchings that were sold in the US. It means that you may see the same etching with or without a seal and they are both good.

       Some of the etchings have numbers written in pencil in the lower left side. They refer to how many were made. They do not give any help in authenticating the piece, it's best to ignore them!

       For most of the etchings (with a very few exceptions) there is nothing else printed on the paper. Some reproduction prints have fake embossed plate marks and seals, so be careful.

       There are other artists that did etchings in the same period with Icart and in the same genre. They are far less expensive than the Icart etchings, so some dishonest people are buying and resigning them for a greater profit. If you find an image that is not in the book Louis Icart, The Complete Etchings", then it's probably not an original Icart.

       Icart did almost nothing in bronze sculpture during his life span. Every sculpture you may see around was made in the late 80's after some of his etchings. They have no merit and are abusively signed Icart. If you like them as a decoration you may value them by weight.

       Icart never did anything in porcelain.

       Oil paintings by Icart are quite rare, and there are some fakes. The fakes are hard to tell from the good ones. Consult an expert.