Collections

Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851)

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The Chain of the Alps from Grenoble to Chambéri British, 1812 Etching, with mezzotint by W. Say 186 x 288 mm This plate appeared in the tenth part of the Liber Studiorum series, and is based on sketches made during Turner’s 1802 European tour. He travelled specifically to see the Alps and this print belongs … Read more

Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775 – 1851)

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Isis London, 1819 Etching, with mezzotint by W. Say 20.9 x 30 cm This image is highly reminiscent of Claude Lorrain and belongs to the elusive ‘E.P’ category. It was published in the forteenth and final installment of the Liber Studiorum series. The ruins in the foreground create a strong sense of an idealised ancient … Read more

Francisco de Goya (1746-1828)

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Don’t Scream, Silly (No Grites, Tonta) Madrid, 1799 Etching with aquatint and drypoint Plate: 21.5 x 15.8 cm, mount: 56 x 40.5 cm Plate 74 from Los Caprichos. Goya’s commentary reads: “Poor little Francisca! She was looking for the footman and she met the goblin. But don’t be afraid! The goblin is in a good … Read more

Emil Nolde (1867-1956)

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Prophet Berlin, 1912 Woodcut 49.5 x 36.5 cm; mount 73 x 59 cm In this deliberately roughly-cut woodcut of an unnamed prophet, the thick hair and beard merge with the blackness of the background. Nolde pursued a unique spiritual path and sought to express his own, truly German, art. Purchased 1996 (No. 96.5)

Max Ernst (1891-1976)

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Birds in Green, Rain USA, 1959 Etching with aquatint and mixed techniques printed in colours Forms of birds and hands frequently appear in this pattern of lines. Highly influenced by Sigmund Freud’s theories of the mind, Ernst experimented with automatic drawing, in which he used uncontrolled strokes in an attempt to represent the unconscious visually. … Read more

Käthe Kollwitz (1867-1945)

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Help Russia Berlin, 1921 Lithograph A suffering and emaciated man is embraced by two pairs of tough-looking hands. Designed as a propaganda poster during the Russian Civil War, this lithograph demonstrates the artist’s sensibility to the social conditions of the working class. The print medium serves as a useful tool for spreading pacifist and political … Read more

Henri Matisse (1869-1954)

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Nude in Three-Quarter Profile, Part of the Head cut away Paris, 1913 Crayon transfer lithograph on Japanese paper 50.4 x 33.1 cm  Matisse’s nude figure is an expression of neither idealism nor realism.  With its simple but strong lines and cropped features, it is, rather, an almost abstract product of pure drawing. The image would … Read more

after Rubens, Peter Paul (1577-1640)

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Portrait of Helena Fourment? Antwerp, 1630-1635 Drawing with black and red chalk heightened with white 561 x 351 mm Both the former attribution to Rubens and the identification of the sitter as Helena Fourment are doubtful, and compromised by poor condition. The traditional identification of the sitter as the artist’s second wife stems from the … Read more

Auguste Rodin (1840 – 1917)

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Bust of Victor-Henri, Marquis de Rochefort-Luçay (1830-1913) Paris, Model: about 1884; Version: about 1902 Marble 81.3 x 40 x 40 cm Henri Rochefort-Luçay was a radical journalist, art collector and patron, noted for his remarkably wild hair and equally fierce opinion. The original plaster model was made in about 1884, but this version was carved, perhaps … Read more

Follower of Rembrandt, Harmensz. van Rijn (1606-1669), possibly Samuel van Hoogstraten (1627-1678)

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Study of a Nude Youth Amsterdam, about 1646 Pen and ink with brown wash  274 x 160 mm Rembrandt and his pupils are known to have made life drawings of naked male models in about 1646. The model here was possibly Rembrandt’s young student Willem Drost. He appears in a number of studio drawings by … Read more

NAUM GABO (1890 – 1977)

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Linear Construction in Space No. 1 St Ives, 1942/43 Perspex with nylon monofilament 21 x 21 x 7 cm An engineer by training, Gabo here uses new materials like Perspex and nylon to create an illusion of a continuous parabolic form – and a work of ethereal beauty. Always at the forefront of avant-garde art, … Read more

Christopher Richard Wynne Nevinson (1889-1946)

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Sur La Terrasse, Montparnasse, Paris Paris, 1919-1920 Lithograph 390 x 495 mm A fragmented, crowded vision of Parisian nightlife. In this image a lively crowd socialises under a canopy of trees, while cars speed beneath flashing signs and lights around them. Nevinson created a painting of the same title and subject in 1925. During this … Read more

Christopher Richard Wynne Nevinson (1889-1946)

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Returning to the Trenches London, 1916 Drypoint 152 x 202 mm This print depicts a platoon of French soldiers, recognisable by their uniforms, as they march back to duty in the trenches. Nevinson was conscripted in First World War but was discharged from service due to illness and acted as an official war artist from … Read more

George Du Maurier (1834-1869)

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The Triumph of Realism British, 1879 Pen, brown ink and pencil on card 254 x 358 mm Du Maurier was a Franco-English illustrator, author and cartoonist. This drawing was made for the satirical magazine Punch (1841-2002). The magazine is responsible for coining the word ‘cartoon’ in its modern sense, as a humorous illustration, rather than … Read more

Hans Holbein the Younger (1497/8 – 1543)

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Design for stained glass About 1520 Pen and grey wash with traces of black chalk 375 x 295 mm Hans Holbein the Younger, later court painter of Henry VIII, made several designs for stained glass windows in his early career. The inclusion of a mitre and crozier suggests that the design was probably made for a … Read more

Probably by Bernardino Lanino (about 1512-1583)

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Madonna and Child with Saint Mary Magdalene and a Bishop Possibly Turin, early 1540/43 Black chalk on paper 833 x 900 mm This is a cartoon, or full-scale preparatory drawing, for part of Lanino’s Madonna and Child Adored by Saints altarpiece in the National Gallery, London. This alatrpiece was executed in 1543 for the church … Read more

Anthony van Dyck (1599-1641)

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An English Landscape England, 1635-1641 Watercolour and bodycolour with pen on paper 189 x 267 mm Anthony van Dyck is probably best known for his grand oil portraits of Charles I. In this watercolour, however, he proves his mastery of other media and subject matters. The trees in the foreground are lush and green and … Read more

Johann Heinrich Tischbein (1751-1829)

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Study from ‘The Massacre of the Innocents’ Rome, about 1780 Black chalk on paper 490 x 365 mm Tischbein made this drawing in Rome during a study trip to Italy (1779-1781). This was a common journey for artists at the time, giving them the chance to study and copy works of Renaissance masters. Here, Tischbein focuses … Read more

Valentine Green (1739-1813)

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Miravan Breaking Open the Tomb of His Ancestors London, 1772 Mezzotint, third state 528 x 391 mm Joseph Wright of Derby (1734-1797) painted the original of this work in 1772 and regarded it as one of his finest paintings. The tale of Miravan was penned by the poet John Gilbert Cooper, who reworked the Greek historian Herodotus’ account … Read more

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1780-1867)

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La belle Ferronnière Paris, about 1802-6 Black chalk, stump and wash on paper Paper: 525 x 418 mm; mount: 785 x 575 mm This drawing is a copy of a painting attributed to Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) in the Louvre, Paris. It was thought to represent a mistress of Francis I; legend stated the sitter … Read more

OTTO DIX (1891-1969)

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Chalk Cliffs in the Sun German, 1916 Black chalk on beige paper 284 x 208 mm The experience of war was a dominant theme in Dix’s work until the 1930s. Taken from a sketchbook compiled during the artist’s service in the German field artillery during the First World War, this drawing depicts a devastated landscape … Read more