Four framed Patrick Nagel prints stand in a row on bare pavement, propped against the side of a silver vehicle, and the camera moves along them one by one: a woman in black stretched across a pale background cut by yellow green rays, a dark haired woman in gold earrings above the word NAGEL, a woman in black sunglasses above a line of lettering, and a woman with her hair piled high and a purple wrap pulled up to her chin.

That is the payoff of a short Instagram reel by @abbies_out_there. It opens with her in the driver’s seat in dark sunglasses, grinning and gesturing at the camera under the on screen line “The Facebook Marketplace gods smiled upon me today.”

Her caption explains why she is so happy. “I managed to get my hands on not one, but FOUR pristine condition framed Patrick Nagel screen prints,” she writes. “I’ve wanted some of these for YEARS!” She says she had never found one in her area, and that she checks “the art section of every secondhand store I ever visit, hoping for a miracle, with no luck” until that day. The reel does not say what she paid or who sold them.

The lettering on two of the frames is legible. Under the woman in sunglasses, the print reads “PATRICK NAGEL” followed by “PAINTINGS,” “GRAPHICS” and “MIRAGE.” Under the woman in the purple wrap, “NAGEL” sits over a smaller line reading “THE BOOK.” A third carries “NAGEL” in large capitals across the bottom.

Heritage Auctions’ own lot records show how differently Nagel prints can be described, which matters for anyone trying to work out what they own. A 1983 Joan Collins serigraph published by Mirage Editions is catalogued as a printer’s proof, signed in the lower right, at 28 by 36 inches. A 1984 Palm Springs Life serigraph, also from Mirage Editions, carries a facsimile signature, printed rather than signed by hand. A Mirage Editions Commemorative #13 from 1987 is listed as “After Patrick Nagel,” a serigraph on a 36 by 24 inch sheet.

She calls her four “screen prints.” The reel does not show a signature, an edition number or the back of any frame, so which kind each one is cannot be told from the clip.

If you find Nagel work on Marketplace or a thrift wall, start with the printed text. Lettering across the bottom that names the artist, a publisher such as Mirage or a book title is part of the printed image, so note it exactly and search for that title with the word Nagel.

Next, look at the lower right corner of the image, where Heritage records the hand signature on the Joan Collins proof, and check whether any signature there is described in a matching lot as signed by hand or as a facsimile. Look in the same area for an edition number, such as a fraction, or a proof marking.

Ask the seller for close photos of that corner and of the back of each frame before you drive anywhere. Measure the sheet or the visible image too, because Heritage’s lot records give dimensions, such as 28 by 36 inches for the Joan Collins proof and a 36 by 24 inch sheet for Commemorative #13, and a size that matches a catalogued serigraph is a useful check.

Finally, compare what you have with sold lots in auction house archives, not with asking prices. Search the exact title, then sort the results by whether they are hand signed, carry a printed signature or are listed as “After Patrick Nagel,” since Heritage separates those in its own descriptions.