Discover a diverse collection of artworks that span centuries, continents, and cultures at the Crocker Art Museum, the primary resource for the study and appreciation of fine art in the Sacramento region. In addition to a robust schedule of changing exhibitions, visitors can explore California art dating from the Gold Rush to the present; a renowned collection of Master Drawings and European paintings; one of the largest international ceramics collections in the United States; and collections of Asian, African, and Oceanic art.

The European master drawings collection at the Crocker Art Museum is rich and historic, being the first on the West Coast and among the earliest American museum collections. Like the European paintings collection, it was formed by the Crocker family and has been enriched by gifts, purchases, and bequests, especially in recent years. With the first drawing by Albrecht Dürer to enter the United States and major sheets by Vittore Carpaccio, François Boucher, Pieter Lely, and Jacques-Louis David, the highlights of the collection are supported by depth and breadth in the major artistic traditions of the European continent. Sources of the master drawings include the most famous 17th and 18th-century Dutch and French collections, as well as British and German collections of the 19th century. Formed well before the systematic study of drawings began in the United States in the 1920s and 30s, the collection has been the subject of many discoveries by leading scholars in the years since. The strengths of the collection are the 15th and early 16th centuries in Germany, the 16th and 17th centuries in Italy, the 17th century in the Netherlands and Flanders, and the 18th century in France. A unique strength among American collections is the 18th century in Germany. With other unusual groups of drawings, such as those by 18th-century Dutch and early 19th-century Italian artists, the collection continues to be an abundant resource for the history of European art.