Faces and Figures: Drawings from the Armand Hammer Collection
December 2, 2007–May 2008
This exhibition is one of a series featuring selections from the collection of drawings formed by the late Armand Hammer. This selection presents portraits and figure drawings by such major artists as Michelangelo, Raphael, and Vincent van Gogh.
The Armand Hammer collection of old master and modern drawings consists of more than 50 works by some of the great draftsmen of all time, from Leonardo and Raphael to Van Gogh and Picasso. With works spanning more than five centuries—from about 1470 to 1940—the collection features a remarkable range of studies and finished compositions drawn in a variety of styles and techniques.Since their arrival at the National Gallery of Art in 1986, the drawings have been shown in a nearly continuous series of small exhibitions on a variety of themes. To avoid overexposure to light, which can damage the paper and the media, the selection of drawings is changed every six months.
On view in the National Gallery's West Building, Ground Floor.