Back to ExhibitionsDrawn to Paper illustrates the richness and depth of the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts Foundation Collection’s holdings of twentieth-century American and European drawings. Notable strengths include the largest concentration of watercolors by Paul Signac outside his native France, as well as the second largest collection of works on paper by John Marin. Signac prolifically documented the diverse landscape of France, especially its ports, while Marin drew inspiration from the coast of Maine and the vibrant energy of the buildings and streets of New York City. Significant examples by these two artists feature prominently in the exhibition.
Similarly drawing inspiration from the urban environment, John Wilson’s charcoal study for his lithograph Streetcar Scene, Edward Hopper’s intimately scaled crayon drawing of a couple at the window, likely a study for a painting, and a pencil study of a Mexican newspaper vendor by Elizabeth Catlett—who taught a workshop at the Museum’s Art School in 1984—all illustrate the artistic process with a variety of media. Also included is Arthur Dove’s Sketchbook E, which contains 28 highly abstracted watercolors, and is on display in its entirety for the first time since its acquisition in 1992.
