The Department of Prints and Drawings houses a distinguished collection of works on paper ranging in date from the 15th century to the present. With holdings of 11,500 drawings and 60,000 prints, the collection includes a broad range of works with particular strength in the areas of French 19th-century prints and drawings; British, French, and Italian drawings; Old Master prints, with fine representations of the work of Albrecht Dürer, Rembrandt van Rijn, Francisco Goya, and James McNeill Whistler; extensive 20th-century holdings; and a constantly growing collection of contemporary works on paper.

As part of an initiative that restored and improved many aspects of the Art Institute’s historic Michigan Avenue building, the Department of Prints and Drawings completed a major renovation of its facilities in 2002, reopening the Jean and Steven Goldman Study Center in September of that year. The renovation addressed the pressing need in the department for expanded art storage, updated facilities in the print study room, and improved spaces for offices, matting and framing, and paper conservation. This space is adjacent to the newly opened Jean and Steven Goldman Prints and Drawings Galleries. Designed by Kulapat Yantrasast, principal architect of Workshop Hakomori Yantrasast (wHY), six galleries totaling 3,500 square feet of gallery space offer visitors the chance to experience a dynamic and comprehensive overview of the department’s holdings.

Learn more about how to request and appointment at theJean and Steven Goldman Study Center here. 

Image: Rosalba Carriera (Italian, 1673-1757), A Young Lady with a Parrot, c. 1730. Pastel and blue laid paper. 60 x 50 cm (23 5/8 x 19 11/16 in.). The Regenstein Collection.