This exhibition showcases the work of artists who have harnessed printmaking techniques, including David Hockney, Bridget Riley, Patrick Caulfield and Henri Matisse.

The exhibition features the work of nearly 60 artists who have all used techniques to exploit the potential of the printed line, from the thick velvety line of drypoint and the heavy cross-hatching of etching to delicate wood engraving and boldly coloured screenprints.

The use of colour will be explored in screenprints by Bridget Riley and Kenneth Martin, as well as Simon Patterson 's witty lithograph, which reworks the lines of the London tube map.

The show also features work by a number of celebrated artists, spanning the 20th century to the present day, including: Walter Sickert 's masterly cross-hatched etching The Old Middlesex (c1910), Ben Nicholson 's rich drypoint Halse Town 1949 (1949), a bold etching by Eduardo Chillida and David Hockney 's pared-down linear etchings.

All the prints in this exhibition are from the Arts Council Collection, which is the largest loan collection of modern and contemporary British art and includes fine examples of work by all of this country’s most prominent artists.