The period of the French Revolution known as the Terror, which lasted from 1792−94, gave rise to many of the most memorable and dramatic images of this crucial moment in modernity. These images were central to revolutionary attempts to regenerate all aspects of life, from clothing and speech to money and maps, and with the introduction of the Republican Calendar, to remake even time itself. In our contemporary political context, in which ‘Terror’ has taken on a variety of disturbing meanings, and in which the proliferation of images plays an increasingly significant role in how we comprehend acts of political violence, it is ever more important to examine this radical period in French history.

Tracing the tumultuous period from the trial and execution of Louis XVI to the fall of Robespierre, Witnessing Terror includes a variety of printed images representing key events and personae. From portraits of revolutionary martyrs to dramatic scenes of Parisian crowds, these prints give us insight into how people understood life during the Terror. As well as a number of caricatures, street scenes, and more overtly artistic prints, the exhibition displays everyday objects, such as paper money, well-worn passports, and playing cards. Drawing out the contemporary relevance of this revolutionary iconography, Witnessing Terror also shows work by the renowned conceptual artist, poet, and gardener Ian Hamilton Finlay (1925−2006) that engages with the long-term legacy of the Terror.

The Terror remains a vexed term that has for many become synonymous with the French Revolution, clouded by myths that emerged in the years that followed. A system of political institutions and practices, the Terror was accompanied by new rhetorical and cultural strategies. It did not happen overnight but developed as a tactical response to a series of military crises, rumours, and fears. Images played a crucial role in the operation of Terror, as well as in its subsequent representation. This exhibition considers what it means to witness Terror, then and now. In particular, it features extracts from the recently discovered letters of Catherine-Innocente de Rougé, duchesse d’Elbeuf (1707−94), who maintained a correspondence with an unknown friend throughout the Revolution. Living in her private residence, the Hôtel d’Elbeuf, which was located only metres from government offices during the Terror, the duchesse d’Elbeuf commented freely on the situation in Paris in a way that would have sent her to the guillotine, had her correspondence been found.

This exhibition is part of a programme of ongoing engagement with UCL Art Museum’s unique holdings of prints related to the French Revolution, acquired via the Cultural Gifts Scheme. It follows Revolution under a King: French Prints, 1789−92 (UCL Art Museum, 2016) and Rousseau 300: Nature, Self and State, an exhibition in collaboration with UCL Centre for Transnational History (UCL Art Museum, 2012).

Miguel A. Aragón, a Mexican-born printmaker now living in the United States, is the subject of a solo exhibition at The Print Center in Philadelphia. His heroic-sized prints address the war on drugs unfolding in his hometown of Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. Using innovative print techniques, such as cutting woodblocks and paper with an industrial-grade hand drill, he creates gripping portraits that humanize the victims of this violence.

Exhibition Opening
Thursday, January 16 from 5:30-7:30pm

Please visit the 'External Link' below for more information.

The Scottish Society for Art History is delighted to announce the programme for the Scottish Society for Art History’s Study Day for 2020, which will explore the theme of ‘Scotland and North America’. The study day is hosted in association with the Terra Foundation for American Art and The Hunterian, University of Glasgow. It will take place at The Hunterian at the Kelvin Hall on Saturday 1 February 2020.

The programme features a panel of speakers from the United States and Europe who will examine connections between the art history and visual culture of Scotland and North America (USA and Canada), past and present. The Study Day themes include transatlantic influences and networks, patronage and collecting, new research on individual artists, and art and education in Scotland and North America. The difficulties created by differences in transatlantic terminologies, research methods and access to resources will also be discussed.

The Study Day will be free to attend for SSAH/AAH members and the public. Admission will include refreshments and a catered lunch. At the time of booking, please inform us if you have any access or dietary requirements.

The Scottish Society for Art History has received generous support from the Terra Foundation for American Art, which is dedicated to fostering exploration, understanding, and enjoyment of the visual arts of the United States for national and international audiences. Recognizing the importance of experiencing original works of art, the foundation provides opportunities for interaction and study, beginning with the presentation and growth of its own art collection in Chicago. To further cross-cultural dialogue on American art, the foundation supports and collaborates on innovative exhibitions, research, and educational programs. Implicit in such activities is the belief that art has the potential both to distinguish cultures and to unite them.

The Study Day programme is posted at the 'External Link' below. Tickets can be booked via the same link.

During a relatively brief career, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec produced over 360 prints and posters, a number of which rank among the best-known images in the history of art. This lecture examines the importance of the printmaking technique of lithography to Toulouse-Lautrec’s representation of celebrities in Paris around 1900.

Free with museum admission.

Sunday at The Met—Artist Julie Mehretu on Printmaking.
SUNDAY, JANUARY 12, 2:00–3:00 P.M.
Julie Mehretu, in conversation with Nadine Orenstein, Drue Heinz Curator in Charge, Drawings and Prints, The Met
The acclaimed artist reflects on her artistic practice and printmaking techniques.
Presented in conjunction with the exhibition The Renaissance of Etching.

Free with museum admission

The Kimono in Print is the first ever show devoted to examining the kimono as a major source of inspiration and experimentation in Japanese print culture from the Edo period (1603-1868) to the Meiji period (1868-1912). Artists during these periods, through the wide circulation of prints, documented ever-evolving trends in fashion, popularized certain styles of dress, and even designed kimonos. This intriguing dialogue between print and kimono design will be illustrated by approximately 80 Japanese prints, as well as a selection of illustrated books and paintings.

Featuring the work of designer bookbinder George Kirkpatrick (b. 1938), one of the most imaginative artists represented in the collection of Neale and Margaret Albert, this display will also include exemplars by other noted designer bookbinders working today, such as Susan Allix, Hannah Brown, Gabrielle Fox, Michael Wilcox, and Robert Wu. Many of these bindings were especially commissioned by Neale Albert (Yale JD 1961), who is an active supporter of this often underappreciated aspect of the book arts. Albert was elected in 2014 as an honorary fellow of Designer Bookbinders, the principal society in Great Britain devoted to artistic bookbinding. All of the books included in the exhibition are a promised gift to the Center from Neale and Margaret Albert.

Contemporary De

Prints from the CU Art Museum’s collection demonstrate how artists and printmakers combine image, text and technique to persuade viewers. Curated by graduate students in CU’s museum practicum seminar, this exhibition brings together engravings, etchings, lithographs and woodcuts created from the 1500s to today. While some of the works are designed to sway public opinion by expressing official or institutional views, others are more subtle in their approach, expressing personal opinion or perspective. In this cross section of images, the curators ask how do prints communicate with viewers? How has printmaking contributed overtime to a public dialogue?

This exhibition, on view concurrently with Lucian Freud: The Self-Portraits and Elsa Dorfman: Me and My Camera, presents approximately 60 contemporary self-portraits on paper, primarily drawn from the MFA’s collection. They include works by major artists known particularly for their focus on self-portraiture—such as Käthe Kollwitz and Jim Dine—as well as younger artists whose conceptual frameworks expand the definition of the genre. Highlights include Booster (1967), a monumental lithograph by Robert Rauschenberg that uses x-rays of the artist’s own body; an untitled lithograph (1990) by Kiki Smith in which Xerox transfers of the artist’s tangled hair become a Pollock-like abstraction; and Invisible (2004) by Kyung Sook Koo, made from impressions of the artist’s body covered in bubble wrap. Other works not to be missed include Willie Cole’s Man Spirit Mask (1991), a metaphorical triptych that uses the symbol of the household iron to suggest domestic servitude, the branding of slaves and the shape of African masks; and the newly acquired print series Runaways (1993) by Glenn Ligon, which mimics the tone of 19th-century broadsides advertising runaway slaves, but substitutes laconic descriptions of Ligon written by his friends, forming a kind of composite self-portrait. Also recently acquired is Balding (2017), a set of 21 meticulously rendered drawings by Cobi Moules, in which the artist—who is transitioning from female to male—uses extraordinary candor and humor to explore the many possibilities that await his future self. Moules is one of several local artists included in the exhibition, alongside Allan Rohan Crite, Jess Dugan, Michael Mazur and John Wilson.

An exhibition displaying various forms of printmaking, including a print portfolio Tejanos: The Border Crossed Us, prints from the Mexico City based workshop Taller 75 Grandos, and more.