Smithsonian American Art Museum
and the National Portrait Gallery
8th and F Streets, NW
202-633-1000
Washington, D.C.
Graphic Arts galleries,
second floor
Graphic Masters I:
Highlights from the Smithsonian American Art Museum
November 27, 2008-May 25, 2009

Graphic Masters I: Highlights from the Smithsonian American Art Museum is the first in a series of special installations that celebrate the extraordinary variety and accomplishment of American artists’ works on paper. These 40 exceptional watercolors, pastels and drawings from the early 19th century through the 1930s reveal the central importance of works on paper for American artists, both as studies for creations in other media and as finished works of art. Traditionally a more intimate form of expression than painting or sculpture, drawings often reveal greater spontaneity and experimentation. Even as works on paper become larger and more finished, competing in scale with easel paintings, they retain a sense of the artist’s hand, the immediacy of a thought made visible.

Rarely seen works from the museum’s permanent collection by masters such as John James Audubon, Romaine Brooks, Childe Hassam, Winslow Homer, John La Farge, Man Ray, John Marin, Georgia O’Keeffe and Max Weber are featured in the exhibition. Joann Moser, senior curator for graphic arts, selected the artworks in the exhibition.

A souvenir book, titled Graphic Masters: Highlights from the Smithsonian American Art Museum and published by the museum in 2003, includes many of the works in the exhibition with entries by Moser.

Winslow Homer, Bear Hunting, Prospect Rock, 1892, Watercolor and pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of John Gellatly.

Georgia O’Keeffe, Special No. 32, 1915, Pastel on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Georgia O’Keeffe Foundation.

William Merritt Chase, Terrace, Prospect Park, About 1887, Pastel, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of John Gellatly.

Charles Burchfield, Lightning and Thunder at Night, 1920, Watercolor and charcoal on paperm Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Charles Rand Penney.

Thomas Wilmer Dewing, Walt Whitman, 1875, Chalk on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase Memorial Fund.

Stuart Davis, Impression of the New York, World's Fair (mural study, Communications Building, World's Fair, Flushing, New York), 1938, gouache on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the United States Information Agency through the General Services Administration.

Paul Manship, Sketch of Egyptian Jackals, 1924, watercolor, gouache and pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Paul Manship.

John Ferren, Blue in Space, about 1937, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Daisy Shapiro.

Andrew Wyeth, November First, 1950, watercolor on paper mounted on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Winifred M. Jacobson.

Willem de Kooning, Untitled, 1950, enamel on paper mounted on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase from the Vincent Melzac Collection through the Smithsonian Institution, Collections Acquisition Program.

David Smith, Untitled, about 1951, ink and tempera on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase.

Dorothy Dehner, The People in the Story; Bolton Landing, 1949, pen and ink and watercolor wash on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase.

William H. Johnson, Going Out, about 1939-1942, gouache, pen and ink and pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation.

Smithsonian
American Art Museum and
the National Portrait Gallery
8th and F Streets, NW
202-633-1000
Washington, D.C.
Graphic Arts galleries,
second floor
Graphic Masters II:
Highlights from
the Smithsonian
American Art Museum
June 19-
January 10, 2010

Graphic Masters II celebrates the extraordinary variety and accomplishment of American artists’ works on paper drawn exclusively from the collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Exceptional watercolors, pastels, and drawings reveal the importance of works on paper — both as studies for creations in other media and as finished works of art. These exceptional watercolors, pastels, and drawings from the 1920s to the 1960s reveal the central importance of works on paper for American artists, both as studies for creations in other media and as finished works of art. Rarely seen works from the museum's permanent collection. Watercolors capture the light and color of nature, while pastels allow artists to draw directly in color, blurring traditional distinctions between drawing and painting. Bold drawings include designs for stage sets, book illustrations, and studies for paintings.

Drawings often reveal greater immediacy and experimentation than paintings and sculpture. Preparatory sketches can be spontaneous creations that reveal the artist’s thought processes and working methods. Even when works on paper are larger and more finished, competing in scale with easel paintings, they retain a sense of the artist’s hand. This installation includes works from early to mid-20th century by artists such as Edward Hopper, Stuart Davis, William H. Johnson, John Steuart Curry, Jacob Lawrence, and Sam Francis.

Graphic Masters II: Highlights from the Smithsonian American Art Museum is the second in a series of special installations that celebrate the extraordinary variety and accomplishment of American artists’ works on paper. These 39 exceptional watercolors, pastels and drawings from the 1920s to the 1960s reveal the central importance of works on paper for American artists, both as studies for creations in other media and as finished works of art. Traditionally a more intimate form of expression than painting or sculpture, drawings often reveal greater spontaneity and experimentation. Even as works on paper become larger and more finished, competing in scale with easel paintings, they retain a sense of the artist’s hand, the immediacy of a thought made visible.

Rarely seen works from the museum’s permanent collection by artists such as Isabel Bishop, John Steuart Curry, Stuart Davis, Dorothy Dehner, Sam Francis, Edward Hopper, William H. Johnson, Willem de Kooning, Charles Sheeler, Joseph Stella, Grant Wood and Andrew Wyeth are featured in the exhibition. Joann Moser, senior curator for graphic arts, selected the artworks in the exhibition.

A souvenir book, titled Graphic Masters: Highlights from the Smithsonian American Art Museum and published by the museum in 2003, includes several works in the installation with entries by Moser. It is available for $19.95 in the museum’s store and online.

Sam Francis, Untitled, 1960, gouache on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Edith S. and Arthur J. Levin.

Jacob Lawrence, Captain Skinner, 1944, gouache on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Carlton Skinner.

Louis Lozowick, Stage Setting for Gas, 1926, pen and ink, brush and ink, tempera and pencil on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase.

Isabel Bishop, Card Player, 1937, pen and ink, ink wash, and pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Frank McClure.

Joseph Stella, Portrait of Clara Fasano, 1943, pastel on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Edward Hopper, White River at Sharon, 1937, watercolor and pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation.

Masami Teraoka, Oiran and Mirror, from the AIDS Series, 1988, watercolor on paper, museum purchase made possible by Mrs. Eugene Vail, Martha L. Loomis, Mrs. William Rhinelander Stewart and Mrs. E.N. Vanderpoel.

Gladys Nilsson, Arytystic Pairanoiya, 1978, watercolor and pencil on paper, and B.M. Koeffler Foundation.

G. Daniel Massad, Night Piece, 1987, pastel on paper, museum purchase.

Peter Saul, Untitled (Bathroom), 1961, pastel crayon and collage on paper, museum purchase through the Gene Davis Memorial Fund.

Claes Oldenburg, Inverted Letter Q, 1973, charcoal and watercolor on paper, bequest of Edith S. and Arthur J. Levin.

Saul Steinberg, Still Life with Cat, 1966, pen and ink, ink wash, colored pencil, pencil and paper collage on paper, gift of the artist.

Wayne Thiebaud, Neapolitan Meringue, 1986/1999, pastel over trial proof lithograph, gift of Warren Unna, Terry and Margaret Stent and the Thiebaud Family and museum purchase in honor of Nan Tucker McEvoy.

Smithsonian
American Art Museum and
the National Portrait Gallery
8th and F Streets, NW
202-633-1000
Washington, D.C.
Graphic Arts galleries,
second floor
Graphic Masters III:
Highlights from the
Smithsonian American Art Museum
January 15, 2010-August 8, 2010

Graphic Masters III: Highlights from the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the third in a series of special installations, celebrates the extraordinary variety and accomplishment of American artists' works on paper. These twenty-eight exceptional watercolors, charcoals, and drawings from the 1960s to the 1990s reveal the central importance of works on paper for American artists, both as studies for creations in other media and as finished works of art. Traditionally a more intimate form of expression than painting or sculpture, drawings often reveal greater spontaneity and experimentation. Even as works on paper become larger and more finished, competing in scale with easel paintings, they retain a sense of the artist's hand, the immediacy of a thought made visible.

Rarely seen works from the museum's permanent collection by artists such as Robert Arneson, Jennifer Bartlett, Will Barnet, Carolyn Brady, Paul Cadmus, Patricia Tobacco Forrester, Philip Guston, Luis Jiménez, Claes Oldenburg, and Wayne Thiebaud, are featured. Joann Moser, senior curator, selected the artworks in the exhibition.

A souvenir book, titled Graphic Masters: Highlights from the Smithsonian American Art Museum and published by the museum in 2003, includes several works in the installation with entries by Moser. It is available for $19.95 in the museum's store and online.

Nancy Wolf, Expulsion, 1980, pencil on paper, gift from the collection of Eric Green and Jock Truman.

John Wilde, Hats #2, 1988, silverpoint on prepared paper, museum purchase made possible by Elizabeth Stevens and Mrs. E.N. Vanderpoel.

Jill Moser, 4/1/86, 1986, graphite and oil on mylar, gift of an anonymous donor.

Paul Cadmus, Preliminary sketch for Subway Symphony, 1973, pencil, casein, crayon, and chalk on paper mounted on paperboard, gift of the Sara Roby Foundation.

Carolyn Brady, August Breakfast/Maine, 1997, watercolor on paper, gift of Nancy Hoffman, Rebecca Hoffman-Greenwald and Peter Greenwald.