To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s department of prints—one of the most comprehensive and distinguished collections of works of art on paper in the world—a diverse roster of exhibitions and related programs has been organized, to take place over the course of the next year. Among the department’s vast holdings are more than 17,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Western Europe and America, principally from the 15th century to the present. These carefully assembled holdings, combining the exceptional with the everyday, rival the eminent and much older collections at the British Museum, London; the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris; and the Albertina in Vienna.
The Met’s extensive collection of historical photographs—now overseen by the Department of Photographs, which became a separate curatorial area in 1992—was originally housed in the print collection. The three exhibitions of photographs on view during the centennial year reference this historical relationship.
“The Met takes enormous pride in the exemplary accomplishments of its curators William Ivins and Hyatt Mayor, who—beginning in 1916, and continuing over a combined tenure of 50 years—assembled one of the greatest collections of prints anywhere,” commented Thomas P. Campbell, Director and CEO of the Met. “These visionary scholars recognized the power of prints as aesthetic objects, rich sociohistorical documents, and peerless tools of communication to a mass audience. From the vantage point of the current time, we cannot help but be astonished at the foresight and wisdom Ivins and Mayor demonstrated a century ago.”
The centennial will be featured on the Museum’s website, as well as on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter via the hashtag #MetOnPaper100.
Organized by the Department of Drawings and Prints
The Power of Prints: The Legacy of William M. Ivins and A. Hyatt Mayor
January 26–May 22, 2016
Under the leadership of its founding curator William M. Ivins Jr. (1881–1961) and his protégé A. Hyatt Mayor (1901–1980), the Met’s print collection was constructed to contain the most beautiful, rare, and exceptional prints alongside the equally important popular and ephemeral works. From the very beginning, Ivins and Mayor conceived of the collection as a visual library: a corpus of works that described, in the most comprehensive way, man’s spiritual aspirations.
The exhibition is a tribute to these two pioneering and influential scholars, who revolutionized the study of this material. On view are more than 130 notable examples of works they acquired, from Renaissance masterpieces to popular ephemera. Among the artists included are such luminaries as Andrea Mantegna, Albrecht Dürer, Rembrandt, Jacques Callot, Goya, James McNeill Whistler, Mary Cassatt, and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, as well as lesser-known individuals. Techniques represented include aquatint, drypoint, engraving, etching, lithography, and woodcut.
The exhibition is made possible by The Schiff Foundation.
The catalogue is made possible by the Drue E. Heinz Fund.
#PowerofPrints
#MetOnPaper100
Wordplay: Matthias Buchinger’s Drawings from the Collection of Ricky Jay
January 8–April 11, 2016
The 18th-century German artist Matthias Buchinger (1674–1739) was born without hands or feet. Despite his disabilities, he was celebrated in his own time as a draftsman and calligrapher as well as a magician and musician. He was said to have performed for German emperors, European princes, and for King George I of England. He was also a frequent guest at noble houses in England and Ireland, and performed at local fairs and inns from Amsterdam and Stockholm to Leipzig and Paris. The Met’s two drawings by Buchinger are displayed alongside some 20 works from the collection of Ricky Jay, the celebrated illusionist, actor, and author. Framing Buchinger’s stupendous works, which were composed largely through micrography (employing minuscule script to create abstract shapes or figurative designs) and calligraphy, are works from the Met’s collection—from late medieval manuscripts and Renaissance typographical prints, to 17th-century writing books and contemporary works on paper—all of which demonstrate words in play.
#MatthiasBuchinger
#MetOnPaper100
Fragonard: Drawing Triumphant—Works from New York Collections
October 6, 2016—January 8, 2017
Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732–1806) was perhaps the most forward-looking artist of the 18th century. His originality can be found in the spirited touch and fertile imagination that infuses his entire output, but is best appreciated in his works on paper. This exhibition of approximately 110 drawings and prints will explore his full range of invention, from the quick sketches that captured his initial ideas, to the finished drawings so highly valued by collectors from his own day to the present. It is a testament to the special place Fragonard has held in the hearts of New York collectors that the selection is drawn entirely from local collections, public and private.
#Fragonard
#MetOnPaper100
MetFridays: Paper Power
February 19, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Visitors will explore the creative power of paper through interactive gallery chats, art making, and a stop at the Met's Paper Project store.
#MetFridays
#MetOnPaper100
Artwork of the Week
April 12, 2016 – April 2017
On a weekly basis for a year beginning in April, visitors to the Met’s Robert Wood Johnson, Jr. Gallery (Gallery 690) will enjoy a glimpse into the astonishing holdings of the Department of Drawings and Prints through a specially selected “artwork of the week.” A different masterpiece of art on paper will be exhibited each week.
#MetOnPaper100
Organized by the Department of Photographs
Crime Stories: Photography and Foul Play
March 7–July 31, 2016
Since the earliest days of the medium, photographs have been used in criminal investigations and evidence gathering to record crime scenes, identify suspects and abet their capture, and report events to a public captivated by vicarious transgression and cathartic punishment. This exhibition will explore the multifaceted intersections between photography and crime, from 19th-century “rogues’ galleries” to work by artists including Andy Warhol and Richard Avedon. Drawn entirely from the Met collection, the installation will feature approximately 70 works, ranging from the 1850s to the present.
#CrimeStories
#MetOnPaper100
diane arbus: in the beginning
July 12–November 27, 2016
Location: The Met Breuer
This major exhibition of early photographs by Diane Arbus (1923–1971) will focus on the genesis of one of the most influential and controversial artists of the 20th century. The show features more than 100 photographs from Arbus's first seven years working with the camera (1956–62), a dramatic era in American history and the period when the artist developed her idiosyncratic style and subject matter soon recognized, praised, criticized, and copied the world over. The majority of the photographs will be drawn from the Met’s vast Diane Arbus Archive, acquired in 2007 by gift and promised gift from the artist’s estate. More than two-thirds of the photographs in the exhibition have never been exhibited or published, offering general visitors and scholars alike an unparalleled opportunity to see new work by this evocative and haunting artist.
#DianeArbus
#MetBreuer
#MetOnPaper100
Faith and Photography: Auguste Salzmann in the Holy Land
September 12, 2016–February 5, 2017
In 1853, Auguste Salzmann (French, 1824–1872)—academic painter, poet, archaeologist, photographer—embarked on the arduous journey from Paris to Jerusalem. Hoping to objectively verify religious faith through the documentation of the city’s holy sites, he turned to photography, creating one of the most enigmatic bodies of work of the 19th century. Despite a high-caliber photographic oeuvre of great variation and creativity, Salzmann remains relatively unknown. Some three dozen rare salted paper prints have been selected from his influential 1856 album, Jerusalem: A Study and Photographic Reproduction of the Monuments of the Holy City from the Jewish Epoch until Our Own Time. Drawn exclusively from the rich holdings of the Met’s Department of Photographs, particularly the Gilman Collection, this will be the first major exhibition of Salzmann’s work in more than a generation and the first ever devoted exclusively to his career.
#FaithAndPhotography
#MetOnPaper100
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February 19, 2016
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