Crown Point Press

Founded in 1962 by Kathan Brown, Crown Point Press is publisher and printer of fine art etchings. Artists travel to its San Francisco studio to make prints with the technical assistance of its master printers. Wayne Thiebaud’s first project at Crown Point Press was in 1964; his last was in 2019. During their lifetimes, Richard Diebenkorn, Sol LeWitt, and John Cage frequently worked at Crown Point Press, and they strongly influenced how the printers approach their work. Since its beginning, over 100 artists have made prints at Crown Point including, more recently, Tomma Abts, Darren Almond, Mamma Andersson, Anne Appleby, John Chiara, Leonardo Drew, Marcel Dzama, Mary Heilmann, Jacqueline Humphries, Tom Marioni, Jockum Nordström, Chris Ofili, Gay Outlaw, Laura Owens, Ed Ruscha, Alyson Shotz, Shahzia Sikander, Patricia Trieb, Charline von Heyl, Catherine Wagner, Mary Weatherford, and John Zurier. Crown Point Press celebrated its 25th birthday with an exhibition at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, and its 35th in 1997 with exhibitions at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. In 2012, at the 50th anniversary of the Press, Kathan Brown published her memoir, Know That You Are Lucky, and the exhibition Yes, No, Maybe: Artists Working at Crown Point Press opened at the National Gallery. It featured 125 working proofs and final prints by 25 artists who worked at Crown Point Press from 1972 through 2010. Crown Point’s archives are owned by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.