Press Releases

Medieval manuscripts preserve stories of faith, romance, and knowledge, but their luxurious illuminations can reveal disturbing narratives as well. Often created for the privileged classes, such books nevertheless provide glimpses of the marginalized and powerless and reflect their tenuous place in society. Attitudes toward women, Jews and Muslims, the poor, those perceived as socially divergent, and foreign peoples beyond European borders can be discerned through caricature and polemical imagery as well as marks of erasure and censorship. Curated by Kristen Collins and Bryan C. Keene.

Paper Promises demonstrates the importance of photographic reproduction in shaping and circulating perceptions of America and its people during a critical period of political tension and territorial expansion. The exhibition traces mid-nineteenth-century experimentation with and exploitation of photography on paper, chronicling the ways in which concern about manipulation and duplication of paper photographs became tempered by enthusiasm for the social connectivity they offered. Rare photographs and negatives are featured alongside iconic images from the formative years of photography in the United States. Curated by Mazie Harris.

The Museum recently made one of the most spectacular acquisitions in its history, purchasing a collection of sixteen drawings from a private collector. The group features exceptional sheets by many of the most celebrated draftsmen in European art history, including Michelangelo, Andrea del Sarto, Domenico Tiepolo, Goya, and Degas. This exhibition presents the drawings together with an exquisite painting by Antoine Watteau, La Surprise, acquired from the same celebrated collection.

Interaction with paper plays an integral role in the practice of many photographers working today. Some create paper models with images gleaned from current events, popular magazines, or the internet for the express purpose of photographing them. Others cut, layer, fold, and/or assemble representational photographs to introduce tactile or narrative elements. The exhibition features works by Thomas Demand, Christiane Feser, Daniel Gordon, Soo Kim, Matt Lipps, and Christopher Russell.