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150 Years
of Print Collecting at the Smithsonian
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| Celebrating a century and a half of
print collecting at the Smithsonian, this exhibition focuses
on the process of collecting--how private collectors and public
attitudes have influenced the collection's development and direction.
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| ...Painter and Engraver |
Drawn from the graphic arts collection in the
National Museum of American History, the oldest print-collecting
unit in the Smithsonian Institution, are images by Dürer, Rembrandt,
and Currier & Ives; Federal Art Project prints from the
1930s; and modern lithographs by June Wayne and Larry Rivers.
This Museum's graphic arts collection has concentrated on the
technological history of printmaking--how prints are made. Examples
from many periods and countries illustrate technical developments
and cultural changes in American collecting interests. Other
Smithsonian museums collect graphic works chosen for aesthetic
reasons. Prints in this Museum record the shift from European
works to American images, and the exhibition identifies widening
opportunities for new collectors, from the American Art Union
of the 1840s to 20th-century print clubs.
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