Start With Resolution and Print Size

The single most reliable test is technical, not aesthetic. A reproduction of John's work should be printed from a file of at least 300 DPI at the final size. A 24 by 36 inch print made from a low resolution scan of a portrait drawing will show soft edges and broken line, and John's draftsmanship is exactly where that failure shows first. His pencil portraits depend on crisp contour, so any wobble or blur in the outline is a sign the source file was too small.

Ask the seller one question. What is the DPI at this size? A confident answer with a number is a good sign. Vagueness, or a claim about 'high quality' with no figure behind it, is not. The same rule applies to canvas. A file stretched across a large canvas without enough resolution will lose the fine modulation in John's faces, and a portrait that has lost its face is not worth the wall it hangs on. Anyone weighing formats can compare the trade-offs between a canvas edition and a framed poster choose between canvas and a framed poster before buying.

Check Colour Fidelity Against the Original

John's oil portraits of the 1910s and 1920s sit in a warm, brownish register, with olive and umber skin tones against dark grounds. A reproduction that turns those tones orange, or that flattens the background to pure black, has been badly profiled. The test is simple. Skin should read as skin, not as a single saturated hue, and the shadows in the background should hold some detail. If every dark area has gone solid, the printer has chased punchiness at the cost of the picture.

Good sellers state their colour process and often show the source image beside the print. Compare them. If the listing photo looks noticeably more vivid than any published reproduction of the same painting, assume the print will too. This is one of the quiet signs of poor reproduction in artist prints, and it matters more with a portraitist than with a landscape painter, because viewers know what faces should look like. The same scrutiny applies to any figure work, including the recognisable subjects John's most recognisable subjects that suit a living room.

Read the Label Before You Pay

A trustworthy listing names the work, the date, and where the source image came from. John's career was long, from his Slade-trained draftsmanship in the 1890s to the society portraits of his later decades, and quality varies enormously between periods. A listing that cannot tell you which John you are looking at cannot tell you what it should look like. Be equally cautious with the word 'handmade'. A genuine hand-pulled etching is a different object from a digital reproduction, and it should be priced and described as one.

Finally, separate the two markets. An original John drawing is a collector's item with a very different price and a very different set of risks. A reproduction is a picture for a wall, and it should be judged as one. If the seller implies investment value, walk away. What you want is a print that holds up at arm's length, and the checklist above will tell you that in under five minutes. Size matters here too, and the right dimensions for the room choosing the right print size are worth settling before you compare sellers.