Landfall Press: The Chicago Print Shop Behind Christo and Kara Walker

Landfall Press in Chicago printed and published lithographs with Christo, Chuck Close, Oldenburg, Kara Walker and the Chicago Imagists. Here is the workshop history and what Landfall prints sell for.

SebastianCharles Auctions

If a print in your collection says it was printed or published by Landfall Press in Chicago, it came out of one of the most respected print workshops in the country. Landfall worked with Christo, Chuck Close, Claes Oldenburg, Sol LeWitt and Kara Walker, along with Chicago's own Imagists. Here is the workshop's story, the artists who printed there, and what Landfall prints sell for.

A master printer opens shop in Chicago

Jack Lemon, a graduate of the Kansas City Art Institute, founded Landfall Press in Chicago in 1970. He brought the postwar revival of American printmaking to the Midwest and drew artists from across the country to work with him.

Landfall's specialty was lithography, but the shop also made etchings, woodcuts, books and multiples. It ran in Chicago for 35 years and moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 2004. After Lemon retired, the studio carried on as Black Rock Editions. In 2025 a Landfall Press Legacy Center opened in Santa Fe to hold the archive of every print Lemon made.

A collection museums wanted

In 1992 the Milwaukee Art Museum acquired the Landfall Press archive. It holds more than 600 prints published since 1970 and nearly 5,000 pieces in all, including proofs, plates and lithography stones. The Kansas City Art Institute, the Fort Wayne Museum of Art and others have mounted shows of Landfall prints, including a 50th anniversary exhibition in 2023.

The artists who printed at Landfall

Landfall's list reads like a survey of American art since 1970.

• Christo, including his Storefront project print
• Chuck Close
• Claes Oldenburg
• Jim Dine, Sol LeWitt, Philip Pearlstein and Pat Steir
• Kara Walker
• Judy Chicago and Robert Indiana
• Vito Acconci, Nancy Graves, Lynda Benglis and William T. Wiley
• The Chicago Imagists, including Roger Brown, Ed Paschke, Barbara Rossi and Karl Wirsum
• Midwest painters such as Keith Jacobshagen and Tom Uttech

What Landfall prints sell for

Landfall prints come up regularly at auction. A few public results show the range.

• Christo, Storefront, Project for Landfall Press, 1978, lithograph with brown paper collage: $1,386 at Phillips New York, October 2020.
• Kara Walker, untitled lithograph, 1996, printed by Landfall, numbered 23 of 25: $4,902 at Rago, October 2024.
• A 1998 portfolio of six lithographs published by Landfall to benefit the Tamarind Institute, including a Kara Walker: $3,024 at Rago, October 2024.

The market for these prints is active right now. TC Art Auctions in Santa Fe sold a group of prints from the Landfall archive in December 2025, and Armstrong Fine Art in Illinois held a Landfall Press, Chicago Imagists and Pop Art sale in May 2026.

The pattern is the same as with any print. The artist sets the price. A signed Kara Walker or Christo brings real money, and a print by a lesser known artist from the same workshop brings far less. The Landfall name tells bidders the printing is first rate.

How to read your Landfall print

Signature and edition number

Look in the lower margin for the artist's pencil signature and an edition number such as 23/25. Proofs may be marked AP, PP or TP instead of a number. A print with no signature or number needs a closer look.

Printer's marks and paperwork

Check the margins for an embossed printer's mark and keep any documentation sheet, gallery invoice or catalog entry that names Landfall Press. Museum and auction catalogs list Landfall as printer or publisher, so paperwork that matches carries weight.

Condition

Lithographs on paper can tone, fade or pick up mat burn over the years. Do not try to clean or flatten a print yourself. Keep it out of direct sun and leave it in its frame until a specialist looks at it.

Other Midwest galleries and print shops

Landfall is one of several Midwest names worth knowing when you sort through a collection. Read our posts on Dayton's Gallery 12, the Locksley Shea Gallery and Wally Findlay Galleries.

Selling a Landfall Press print

If you have a print made at Landfall Press, send us photos of the front, the full margins, the back and any paperwork. Sebastian personally reviews every inquiry. Our prints department handles editions from posters to blue chip lithographs, and you can request an estimate here.