Original fine art for under $100? Yes.

December 19, 12:07 PMMinneapolis Visual Arts ExaminerTracie Thompson

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How to hide from your enemies, wood engraving. Fourth in a series of seven images by Nate Christopherson. I bought this one.

Yesterday afternoon, I began an art collection.  I spent, with tax, just under $54.

No, I didn't buy one of those tacky assembly-line paintings imported from China and sold in department stores everywhere. 

What I bought is the piece pictured above, by Nate Christopherson.  It's a hand-cut, hand-inked, hand-printed wood engraving, and only 14 will ever be made.  It's genuine original fine art, and the price tag was 50 bucks.

So where does a person go to get this kind of quality for so little money?  Almost anywhere original art is sold, really, but in this case it was The Highpoint Center for Printmaking. 

Highpoint's 14th Cooperative Exhibit, Prints on Ice, is on display through January 3. Nate Christopherson is one of 23 participating artists, in styles that range from photo-realistic (the incredible stone lithographs of Sally Gordon) to absurdist (Mike Elko's totally twisted take on old-fashioned American cowboy images) to abstract (Roberta Allen's quiet, soft Horizons series).

Mike Elko was one of my favorites, and his original screen prints of cowboys saddling up a Dachsund or a rooster -- or riding a giant bucking flea -- go for just $70. 

For $80 I could've taken home one of Brian Hartley Sago's gorgeous little intaglio prints.  He's got a series titled Meddling in the Middle East, combining old photos of desert camels with lacy geometric/decorative elements, suggesting the entire history of Western romanticization of -- and destructive intrusion upon -- Eastern culture. Serious theme notwithstanding, they're simply beautiful to behold. 

As an artist, I always wish more people understood that real fine art is for them; wealth and status are not required, nor is any particular education.  If you see one of Joanne Price's little Palm Tree Story wood engravings, and you like it, and you have $35, you too can be an art collector.  Highpoint is a great place to start.

One note: if you're going to shop on a small budget at Highpoint, do bring a checkbook or cash. They can't take credit cards for purchases of less than $100.