Beginning January 9 through March 7, 1999 Treasures Revealed: Nineteenth and Twentieth Century American Works on Paper is the first exhibition to give significant exposure to the National Academy's little known but impressive works on paper collection. In formation since 1826, the collection of 1,500 works is largely the result of contributions made by artist members, of which 300 have been printmakers.
Treasures Revealed' features approximately one hundred drawings, prints and watercolors by American artists, but will also include selections from European artists, with a great majority of the works never before on view at the Academy. The exhibition will include watercolors and sketchbooks by William Trost Richards; pastels by Walter Shirlaw and Ehilu Vedder; pencil drawings by Kenyon Cox, Raphael Soyer, and John Trumbull; engravings by Timothy Cole and Alfred Jones; etchings by John Taylor Arms, Jasper Johns, Chaim Koppelman, Thomas Moran, and Joseph Pennell; lithographs by Clinton Adams, Ruth Gannett, and Louis Lozowick; wood engravings by Grace Albee, Paul Landacre, and Herbert Waters; mezzotints by Robert Kipniss; and collagraphs by Clare Romano.
Dr. Trudie Grace, Assistant Curator at the National Academy, is curating the exhibition. For nearly three years, she has overseen the ongoing cataloguing of the Academy's works on paper collection. While pouring over these treasures, Dr. Grace realized it was indeed time to reveal the breadth and excellence of the Academy's works on paper collection, which remained largely undocumented until the early 1980s. She then began consulting with academicians and master printmakers including Will Barnet, Robert Kipness, and Clare Romano on printmaking's technical aspects, and its evolution over the course of the twentieth century.
For further biographical information on selected artists cited above please see America's Distinguished Artists, a national registry of historic artists.