The technique of lithography was invented by the Austrian-born Aloys Senefelder in 1798. Senefelder experimented with a novel etching technique using a greasy, acid resistant ink on a smooth fine-grained limestone and later discovered that this could be extended to allow printing from the flat surface of the stone alone. Senefelder was able to exploit this potential of what became known as ‘lithography’ as a medium for art.

Unlike previous printmaking techniques such as engraving, lithography allowed the artist to draw directly onto the plate of stone or metal with familiar pens.

For over 200 years since its invention, artists from Rembrandt to Picasso, Goya to Hockney have made available their own art works to this process and worked closely with printmakers, engravers, etchers and lithographers.