The monotype has traditionally eluded comfortable classification as a painting, drawing or print. A monotype is simply a unique print of a drawing or painting that has been transferred directly from a surface onto paper or fabric. It is an image that, once rendered, will never again be exactly the same. Because the execution of the piece is relatively fast and the transfer immediate, the monotype often has a spontaneity of expression not found in more arduously worked paintings and drawings. Nevertheless, it may retain the artistic effects of these other media. As a result, the monotype has a special market value.

Many persons knowledgeable about painting, drawing and printmaking are often unclear about the production of monotypes. Since dealers find it awkward to price the work, they are usually priced somewhat conservatively.

The earliest monotype method, from the 17th century, entailed the transfer of a painted image from a flat copper plate directly onto paper. In the late 19th century this process was practiced and popularized by Degas. In 1981, the Metropolitan Museum of Art's exhibition " The Painterly Print: Monotypes from the 17th to the 20th Century" encouraged artists to take up the art of the monotype again. Today, sophisticated equipment and technique allow the production of larger and more varied prints than in the past

From Martin Fisher, THE JOURNAL OF ART, June/July/August 1991.