The Gallery's outstanding collection of French old master drawings represents in remarkable richness and breadth the history of French draftsmanship before 1800. Individual works have been included in exhibitions at the Gallery and elsewhere, but the heart of the collection as a whole, now augmented with numerous important recent acquisitions, has never been showcased in a special exhibition. For the first time the Gallery will present a selection of approximately 120 of the most significant, beautiful, and representative drawings made over a period of three centuries by the best French artists working at home and abroad and by foreign artists working in France. Among the key artists are Jean Poyet, Benvenuto Cellini, Jacques Callot, Claude Lorrain, Antoine Watteau, François Boucher, Jean-Honoré Fragonard, and Jacques-Louis David. Outstanding examples will also be presented by other gifted but less widely known artists such as Jacques Androuet du Cerceau, Claude Deruet, Jean-Baptiste Pillement, and Jean-Baptiste Huet. The exhibition will reveal in impressive fashion the strength and depth of the Gallery's collection, while also celebrating the singular originality, elegance, and spirit of French draftsmanship in general.

A comprehensive catalogue illustrating this selection of the Gallery's outstanding collection of French old master drawings will accompany the exhibition.

Organization: Organized by the National Gallery of Art.

Schedule: National Gallery of Art, October 1, 2009–January 31, 2010

Passes: Passes are not required for this exhibition.

The exhibition will be on view in the National Gallery's West Building, Ground Floor, East Outer Tier