Q. How long has Beaux Arts been in business?
A. Bob Schutze founded Beaux Arts in Dallas in 1988.

Q. Why the name Beaux Arts?
A. Beaux Arts (pronounced Bo-zár) is French for “fine art” or “beautiful art”. In the beginning, the core of the gallery’s art was produced by former students of the world’s preeminent fine art academy, the Ecole de Beaux Arts in Paris.

Q. What are the primary offerings of the gallery now?
A. Fine Antiquarian Prints and Rare Maps from 1500 through the early 1900’s in all subject areas.

Q. Anything else?
A. A core collection of contemporary art for our demanding architectural and interior designer clients; occasional original watercolors and oils; and reproductions of the finest examples of our original prints and maps.

To learn more about our amazing reproductions, click here.

Q. Why did anyone bother to produce these prints 200, 300, 400 years ago?
A. To satisfy an insatiable appetite for knowledge during a great age of intellectual discovery.

550 years ago Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press ushered in an age of information that flourished in the Renaissance and created a demand for books (and fine illustrations) that continues to this day.

There was no such thing as a middle class until the industrial revolution in Europe produced one at the beginning of the early 1800’s. Thus, the first 350 years of illustrated books were aimed at the only market that existed – that of nobility and their favored circle. And for anything to be fit for a king (or queen) and to bring honor to its producer, it had to be of the finest quality, no expense spared. The engraving, the hand-coloring, the fine hand-made cotton rag paper, all of the highest order – and beauty!

As these illustrations were made more affordable for the burgeoning middle class, the quality became lesser, not greater. A print from say 1780 has no rival in beauty or quality today. How many things in one’s life can one say that about?

Q. Why would someone buy an antique print when they could buy an original piece of art?
A. Beaux Arts carries an enormous inventory or original antique prints whose creation derived from various sophisticated processes that result in a print pulled from an artist’s rendering on copper, steel, stone, wood or zinc. Although more than one print is pulled, each is an original impression taken at the time of creation, 100, 200, 400 years ago. What we sell is considered fine art by virtually every measure one can use.

Q. There are many different kinds of prints, aren’t there?
A. Yes. To open our "Glossary of Print Terms", click here.

Q. Why buy an original for $100’s or even $1000’s? I don’t care how old it is. I don’t want to invest. Aren’t I a candidate for a nice reproduction?
A. These fine art prints are not expensive because they are old. They are expensive because no technology has ever replaced the exquisite beauty achieved using these centuries-old techniques. They are more expensive than a reproduction because they look that much better than a reproduction. In truth, to hire the modern talent and skill to create the same caliber of print would cost an amount far beyond what it costs to buy these earlier prints. You are paying more to get more. In that, there is value. Or, if you’re still not convinced, you can buy a reproduction.

Q. Why buy from Beaux Arts? Why not from eBay or some other source? You know, cut out the middleman.
A. Peruse our inventory. Study our prices. Then compare to other dealers and/or auctions. The prices here are excellent and include repair of critical creases, tears or blemishes, restoring acidic paper to the proper PH level, restoring color damaged from light or fading and providing accurate evaluation of the origin, date and production technique of your print. We are the expert’s expert and one of the trades finest dealers. We are honest and forever good natured because we love what we do.