The assumption is that museum-collected artists start in five figures. For unique work that is usually true. For editions it is not: Joseph Beuys, Georg Baselitz, Dan Flavin, John Baldessari and Jenny Holzer all have signed work in this range, and all of them sit in the permanent collections of major museums. This is not a selection of emerging names at accessible prices — it is the post-war canon, in the medium where it remains reachable. Below this range, Art Under €2,500 narrows the same list of artists further.

A budget at this level changes what is available, not just which artists. Below it, you are mostly looking at single sheets. Here you reach complete portfolios, suites printed as a group, works issued with the artist’s book or case, and editioned objects in ceramic, metal and cast form. A set of four, a triptych or a boxed portfolio is a different proposition from one print — it shows a sequence of decisions rather than a single image, and it is usually how an artist intended the work to be seen.

Once the figure is set, the question stops being what you can afford and becomes which of these. One strong work or two quieter ones is a real decision, and most collectors get to it eventually. The honest answer is that condition, the standing of the image within the artist’s output, and whether the edition is documented matter more than how many works you end up with — our guide to what makes a print valuable sets out why. If you are weighing a first purchase at this level, how to buy art prints covers the questions worth asking before you pay.