Serigraph art dates to at least 9,000 B.C., when stencil-based art appeared on Egyptian tombs and Greek mosaics. Images of the Buddha were produced as serigraph art in China around 200 to 600 A.D. In Japan, artists expanded the serigraphy into a complex form of art by stretching a piece of silk across a frame known as a screen. In modern times, polyester and nylon largely have replaced silk.
Starting with an image, a seriagraph artist develops separate stencils for each color he intends to use in his work. As the Hernandiz Fine Art website explains, a sheet of archival paper is inserted under a stencil. Then a specific color of paint is poured along the edge of a wooden frame. A squeegee is used to distribute the paint over the stencil and onto the paper, a process called "pulling," A separate stencil is used for each color that is transmitted from the screen and onto paper. Some prints contain as many as 100 different colors.
In 1938, a group of New York artists, hired by Federal Art Project, began experimenting with silk screening, taking the art form to a new level. The artists gave serigraphy its name and founded the National Serigraph Society to promote the technique. In the 1960s, Warhol, Lichtenstein and others were attracted to serigraph art, in large part because it gave them an opportunity to use different textures and eye-popping colors. Warhol's Campbell's soup cans and Lichtenstein's comic-book style prints are good examples of serigraphs.
Whereas a painting is a singular work of art, all of the serigraph prints made at one time are considered to be a separate serigraph edition, with the number of prints in each edition ranging from one print to 500 or more. After each edition, the stencils used are destroyed. Sometimes later editions are superior to early editions, so lower numbers do not necessarily denote a superior or more valuable print.