FAQ

You can perform a general search for photos by using the search bar at the top of every page. For more precise results, you can use the extended search function. A basic search is useful if you are just starting out with your research and would like to find as many records as possible that are relevant to a particular subject or theme. 

The extended search function is divided into the sub-groups Picasso and other photos. Select the category you want – Stars, Celebrities, Arts, Miscellaneous – and leave the default setting of Search All or choose Picasso. All search terms entered under Picasso will limit the search to Picasso-related photos.  

Additionally, you can also browse the index in each photo category or the Index of Picasso's friends and associates.

Click on a thumbnail photo for an enlarged view and all related information. Here you can also add the picture to your basket if you would like to place an order.

Under Photos you will find the individual categories with an Index of personalities, and under Miscellaneous a list of subjects. Where there is no link, photos are available upon request, as the original negatives have not yet been digitized. Please revisit for updates.

The extended search option allows you to search within the desired category. If you leave the field “Term” blank, all images in that particular category will be displayed.

Most of the artworks by Picasso that are seen in the photos can be found with their French titles and abbreviated reference sources. The abbreviations are listed in the Bibliography.

The people who appear with Picasso in the photos can be found in the Picasso-specific Index of friends and associates.

If you do not find photos that match your specific needs, please get in touch so we can advise you on what we most likely have. Once we receive your information, we will do a courtesy search and see if we can locate the item you are seeking. As only a smaller number of the negatives have been digitized so far, we could very well have other pictures that might be of interest to you. If necessary, we can digitize these images as well.

It was not always easy to identify specific personalities, artworks, places or dates. If you have suggestions or ideas for more precise identification, or if you happen to find any errors, we kindly request that you inform us.

For all our products, the ordering process is basically the same: choose an image, put it in the basket, provide your personal details, specify the intended use and ask for a quote. We do not fully automate the ordering procedure, as most of our customers prefer individual processing. For example, you do not necessarily have to use the official order form; you can also communicate directly via e-mail.

Normally you will receive an offer from us within 24 hours of placing your request. We do not send out automated replies, but respond personally to each inquiry.

As we own roughly 180,000 negatives for all of Quinn’s photos, we can supply high-resolution files that were directly scanned from the original negatives. You can find detailed information on reproduction licensing here.

The normal turnaround time from receipt of the order is 24 hours or less for regular size digital files, seven days for very large files.

When you have received the image, or when the exact size of the image is known in the case of reproductions, we will send you an invoice with our banking details and all required information. Our preferred payment method is bank wire transfer. Payment with a credit card is only possible via PayPal. Checks are generally not accepted in Switzerland.

Our terms and conditions govern all contractual relations between our customers and the Edward Quinn Archive. The contract is finalized with the order and delivery of the requested photographs. We do not conclude a specific contract, except for exhibitions involving a larger number of photos. The use of the photographs is specified on the invoice. A sample contract for exhibition organizers is available upon request.

We do not provide the original files for download on this website. If you purchase a reproduction license, we will send you a high-resolution file for download via WeTransfer. 

We hold the exclusive rights to all photographs by Edward Quinn. Every picture must be accompanied by this credit line: Photo Edward Quinn, © edwardquinn.com. If a work by any artist is visible in a photograph, the copyright of the artist and/or relevant collecting society must also be given, e.g. © Calder Foundation, New York / 2020, ProLitteris, Zurich. Detailed information on the correct citation of copyright references is provided here.

The purpose of watermarks is to protect our copyright. Especially when photos are posted without permission on social media, the photographer’s name and copyright credit are often missing.

We have a broad client base, including press agencies and book publishers, film producers, auction houses, museums, educational institutions, advertising agencies etc. The reproduction licenses are restricted exclusively for professional, non-private use.

We’re sorry, but we do not offer image files for purchase to be printed at home. We only sell either fine art prints for collectors or high-resolution files for professionals for reproduction in media (specified medium, size, and print run).

The cost of licensing an image varies and depends on several factors, which include type of use (editorial or commercial), size, distribution/circulation, duration of use and commercially generated revenue. Since these factors are unique to each case, please fill out the request form after you have made your selection of images.

Yes, in the resolution of length plus width max. 600 pix/72 dpi. and always with the credit in a corner of the picture: © edwardquinn.com. We regret that this is necessary, but copyright infringement is rampant on social media.

Yes, with the resolution of length plus width max. 1600 pix/72 dpi. and with the correct credit: Photo Edward Quinn, © edwardquinn.com.

Our permission must be obtained for any changes made to a photograph by Quinn. In most cases, the photos we provide are uncropped. If you would like to crop a reproduction, you must first request and receive permission from us. We generally refuse permission for any manipulations of an image other than cropping. You must also receive permission from us for adding text to an image or changing the colors – for example, for a book cover or poster. 

For unusually large displays, it might be necessary for us to produce new scans from the negatives, which usually takes about one week. However, some photos are not suited for use as large-format images for technical reasons.

Print reproductions are made from the original negatives in our holdings. We provide exceptionally high-quality, continuous-tone prints on traditional fiber-based gelatin silver baryta-coated paper. We do not use the less stable polyethylene (PE)/resin coated (RC) paper. Further information on the production, sizes, authentication and other aspects can be found here.

These prints are for personal use only, intended for display at home or in other private spaces, to give as a gift, or to collect. For all other purposes, such as display in public spaces or institutions, permission must be granted by the Edward Quinn Archive.

The prints may also be used for exhibitions. We typically do not sell the prints in such cases, but provide them on loan for a fee.

A print purchased for personal use (estate prints, vintage prints, contact prints) cannot be copied, reproduced, published or used editorially or commercially. The rights of reproduction are controlled by the owner of the copyright. A personal print is for the buyer’s use only: to hang on a wall, give as a gift or collect.

We exclusively offer fine art estate prints. Simple prints, such as digital prints, are not available.

We do not publish our prices here. Please request a current price list.

We normally ship fine art prints in a protective black box with a courier service. Shipping is billed at cost on the basis of our discounted shipping rates.

For regular size prints, the normal turnaround time from receipt of the order is 10 days plus shipping time. 

In classical photography, it was uncommon to print limited editions because the photographs were usually created for newspapers and magazines rather than for the art market. Edward Quinn felt that limited editions contradicted the principle of photography, which theoretically allows for countless photographs to be produced from the negative. To guarantee that a limited edition – analogous to limited-edition lithography – is restricted to the numbered series, the negative and all scans would have to be destroyed once the specified number had been issued. This is contrary to how photographers view their work. 

From time to time, however, we will produce special editions on important occasions or for specific projects – as we did, for example, with two pictures in a numbered edition of 20 as part of the NZZ photo edition series (Neue Zürcher Zeitung), which has also featured works by Werner Bischof, Elliott Erwitt, Emil Schulthess and others.

No, we offer neither frames nor passepartouts. Preferences for such products depend greatly on personal taste as well as the surroundings in which a picture will be displayed.

There is no clear definition of this term. Vintage prints are generally understood to be the earliest prints that the photographer makes soon after developing a negative. Today the term vintage print is often used as a synonym for old photographs. A decisive advantage of vintage prints is always that they are only available in a very low number, in our case usually 1 copy of a photo. Since, by definition, the number of vintage prints cannot be subsequently increased, this corresponds to a maximum limitation of the edition. To learn more about this, click here.

There are only a limited number of vintage prints, most of them measuring from 18 x 24 cm (7 x 9.5 in.) up to 20 x 30 cm (9.5 x 12 in.). The availability of vintage prints of the size 20 x 30 cm (9.5 x 12 in.) is shown in the search results. The availability of 18 x 24 cm (7 x 9.5 in.) is not yet completely recorded but will be added step by step. 

With our "extended search" the available vintage prints can be found. Tell us what topic you are interested in and we can make you an offer if we have a corresponding vintage print.

Yes, there are vintage prints in the size of approx. 20 x 30 cm (9.5 x 12 in.) and some 18 x 24 cm (7 x 9.5 in.) with Quinn’s signature.

A contact print is a photographic image directly produced from film negative. It is the same size as the original, rather than having been projected through an enlarger. Contact prints are usually produced as a sheet or strip with the entire film of 20-36 shots. In the darkroom (lab) an exposed and developed piece of film or photographic paper is placed  in contact with a piece of photographic paper, light is shone through the negative and then the paper is developed to reveal the final print. The contact print is used by the photographer to select the image that he wants to enlarge. It is usually a unique copy and the earliest print.

Quinn started with a Kodak bellows camera in 1949 and then purchased a Kodak Retina, before he was able to afford a Rollei. His first Leica was the model IIIf with screw-mounted lenses. All of his 6 x 6 images were taken with the Rolleiflex 2.8 or 3.5. In 1956, he bought a Leica M3, which he used for almost 40 years. Today the camera clearly shows the traces of hard wear. His wife Gret talks about this camera in the film. As a technology enthusiast, he bought and utilized a variety of cameras – for example, a Robot Royal, the Olympus PEN half-frame, a Hasselblad 500C and a Nikkormat – but he always went back to his beloved, extremely quiet Leica M3. In 1966, he was hailed as the “Master of the Leica” in the trade journal Leica Fotografie 4/1966.

All Quinn's photos were taken with analog equipment, before the advent of digital photography. In digital photography, an image is captured by a sensor. In analog photography, a light-sensitive film is used. After the shot, the image is made visible by chemical processes and converted into a negative. The negative can then be used to create paper prints. 

Of all the photos of Quinn, the Edward Quinn Archive owns the original negatives; the digital files and prints were created from these original negatives.

Quinn usually used the black-and-white Kodak films Verichrome Pan, Plus-X Pan and Tri-X, and for color pictures Ektachrome or occasionally Kodachrome. He and his wife developed all of the black-and-white films themselves and also produced the prints – some of which are still available as vintage prints – in their own darkroom.

Of course we welcome your feedback – positive, critical or even negative, the latter hopefully as an exception. You can leave a comment or feedback in the contact section.