“THE END OF THE HUNT,” 1892, watercolor over graphite, by Winslow Homer. Gift of the Misses Harriet Sarah and Mary Sophia Walker. Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Brunswick.
The Bowdoin College Museum of Art will present the first-ever survey of the museum’s collection of drawings, widely considered the oldest public collection of works on paper in North America, beginning May 3.
Titled “Why Draw? 500 Years of Drawings and Watercolors at Bowdoin College,” the exhibition will run through Sept. 3 and includes more than 150 works by American and European artists across cultures, genres and time periods. Included are works by Peter Paul Rubens, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, John Singleton Copley, Winslow Homer, Henri Matisse, Eva Hesse and Roy Lichtenstein, among others.
“Why Draw?” will be accompanied by an illustrated catalogue that features original texts from scholars and contemporary artists, all considering what compels artists to draw through close study of specific works in the exhibition.
The museum will also host several public programs throughout the summer in conjunction with the exhibition, including artist talks, scholarly lectures, and artist-led workshops.
Curated by Joachim Homann, the exhibition reveals Bowdoin’s history of collecting works on paper — stemming back to the initial gift of 141 historic European drawings to the college by James Bowdoin III in 1811. Since then the drawings collection has evolved to include nearly 2,000 unique works on paper, encompassing acquisitions and gifts from alumni, artists and patrons.
Many recent additions to the collection will be on view for the first time. Spanning from a drawing from the workshop of Raphael, to the first-ever watercolor by Winslow Homer to enter a museum collection, to works produced in the past five years by Natalie Frank, William Kentridge, and Titus Kaphar, the exhibition offers a diverse selection of works from artists across a wide range of history.
“We’re delighted to have the opportunity to present a comprehensive survey of our renowned collection of drawings, which, through its distinct breadth and depth, provides rewarding insights into the evolving role of drawing over the past 500 years of Western artistic practice,” said Frank Goodyear, co-director of the museum.
For more information on the Bowdoin College Museum of Art or the “Why Draw?” exhibit, visit bowdoin.edu/artmuseum.
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