The Eskenazi Museum of Art has a long history of actively studying, exhibiting, and publishing our collection of more than 24,000 works on paper. Our Center for Prints, Drawings, and Photographs offers access to the collection, an extensive research program, and a comprehensive collections care program.
Central to the center’s activities is a series of rotating exhibitions in the museum’s nearly 1,500-square-foot gallery. This is our first space devoted solely to the display of works on paper since the museum moved into the I.M. Pei designed building in 1982. The gallery features selections from the museum’s collection, traveling exhibitions, partnerships with other institutions and private collectors, and faculty- or student-curated exhibitions. We look forward to sharing works of various mediums, styles, and time periods with you!
Looking at original prints, drawings, and photographs by the great masters up-close in a study room offers a unique viewing experience that is unforgettable for many young students.
Nan Brewer, Lucienne M. Glaubinger Curator of Works on Paper
The Center for Prints, Drawings, and Photographs features a stunning glassed-walled study room in which students, scholars, and community members can examine works from the collection, including those not currently on display. The study offers opportunities for group viewing and discussion, immediate access to object files, and the use of technology for close looking or distance learning.
Most museums only have about 5–10% of their collections on public display. This percentage is usually even lower for prints, drawings, and photographs, which require limited exposure to light. The Center for Prints, Drawings, and Photographs features a specially designed storage space that houses works of various size and media. There is ample space for the collection’s continued growth through gifts and purchases, including large, mixed-media works from contemporary artists and artists’ archives.
With the goal of becoming a primary center for the study of prints, drawings, and photographs in the Midwest, we dedicate ourselves to working with faculty, students, and outside scholars on collections-based research projects, exhibition planning, publications, and new scholarship via lectures, symposia, and study days. Likewise, our curators regularly present their research in articles, books, and at conferences and engage with their peers in professional organizations.
We hope to introduce a new generation of scholars to the joys of studying works on paper by sharing our deep knowledge of preservation, collection practices, materials, and techniques through direct engagement with original works of art.
