The annual IFPDA Book Award was founded in 2004 to honor books, articles, and catalogues on fine art prints which demonstrate excellence in research, scholarship, and the discussion of new ideas in the fields of printmaking, history and connoisseurship. One of the two grantees this year is:

The Renaissance of Etching by Catherine Jenkins, Nadine M. Orenstein, and Freyda Spira
Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art and distributed by Yale University Press
An accompaniment to the highly acclaimed Met exhibition which took place from October 23, 2019–January 19, 2020, the book is the first comprehensive look at the origins and diffusion across Europe of the etched print during the late 15th and early 16th centuries. The etching of images on metal, originally used as a method for decorating armor, was first employed as a printmaking technique at the end of the 15th century. This in-depth study explores the origins of the etched print, its evolution from decorative technique to fine art, and its spread across Europe in the early Renaissance, leading to the professionalization of the field in the Netherlands in the 1550s. Beautifully illustrated, this book features the work of familiar Renaissance artists, including Albrecht Dürer, Jan Gossart, Pieter Breughel the Elder, and Parmigianino, as well as lesser known practitioners, such as Daniel Hopfer and Lucas van Leyden, whose pioneering work paved the way for later printmakers like Rembrandt and Goya.

Join us for a conversation with contributors Catherine Jenkins, Independent scholar; Nadine Orenstein, Drue Heinz Curator in Charge, Department of Drawings and Prints, The Metropolitan Museum of Art; and Freyda Spira, Associate Curator, Department of Drawings and Prints, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Moderated by David Tunick, President, IFPDA. This event will be held via Zoom on Tuesday, October 20, 2020 at 12pm.

Please visit the 'External Link' below to register.