“The history of the Metropolitan Museum’s collection of works of art on paper—now one of the most important and most comprehensive in the world—began 100 years ago with the unlikely and astonishing story of its first two curators, neither of whom was trained as an art historian. Together, they challenged convention, engaged the public, and revolutionized the study of these works. Organized to commemorate the department’s centennial, the exhibition The Power of Prints: The Legacy of William M. Ivins and A. Hyatt Mayor sheds light on the fascinating careers of its founding curators and reveals how, from the very beginning, they artfully composed the print collection as a visual library: a corpus of works of art on paper—from the exceptional to the everyday.” — The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn) (Dutch, Leiden 1606–1669 Amsterdam). The Three Trees, 1643. Etching with drypoint and engraving Plate: 8 3/8 x 10 15/16 in. (21.3 x 27.8 cm) sheet: 8 3/8 x 11 1/8 in. (21.3 x 28.3 cm) mount: 14 1/4 x 19 1/4 in. (36.2 x 48.9 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929 (29.107.31). Image: © The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes) (Spanish, Fuendetodos 1746–1828 Bordeaux). A Giant Seated in a Landscape, sometimes called ‘The Colossus,’ by 1818. Burnished aquatint with scraping and strokes of ‘lavis’ added along the top of the landscape and within the landscape. Plate: 11 3/16 × 8 3/16 in. (28.4 × 20.8 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1935 (35.42). Image: © The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Mary Cassatt (American, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 1844–1926 Le Mesnil- Théribus, Oise). The Letter, 1890–91. Drypoint and aquatint, printed in color from three plates. Plate: 13 5/8 x 8 15/16 in. (34.6 x 22.7 cm) Sheet: 17 x 11 3/4 in. (43.2 x 29.8 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Paul J. Sachs, 1916 (16.2.9). Image: © The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Edward Hopper (American, Nyack, New York 1882–1967 New York). Evening Wind, 1921. Etching Plate: 6 15/16 x 8 1/4 in. (17.6 x 21 cm) Sheet: 9 7/16 x 10 5/8 in. (24 x 27 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1925 (25.31.7). Image: © The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Albrecht Dürer, German (1471–1528). Nemesis (The Great Fortune), 1501–2. Engraving, second state of two, 13 1/8 × 9 1/8 in. (33.3 × 23.1 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Fletcher Fund, 1919 (19.73.89). Image: © The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Albrecht Dürer (German, Nuremberg 1471–1528 Nuremberg). Adam and Eve, 1504. Engraving, 9 7/8 x 7 7/8in. (25.1 x 20cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Fletcher Fund, 1919 (19.73.1). Image: © The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Marcantonio Raimondi, Italian (ca. 1480–before 1534). After Raphael, Italian (1483–1520). The Judgment of Paris, ca. 1510–20. Engraving, 11 1/2 × 17 1/4 in. (29.1 × 43.7 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Rogers Fund, 1919 (19.74.1). Image: © The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Giorgio Ghisi, Italian (ca. 1520–1582). After Giulio Romano, Italian (ca. 1499–1546). The Death of Procris, ca. 1540. Engraving, 15 1/2 × 22 1/4 in. (39.4 × 56.5 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1951 (51.501.7109). Image: © The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Hendrick Goltzius (Netherlandish, Mühlbracht 1558–1617 Haarlem). The Great Hercules, 1589. Engraving, 21 7/8 x 15 7/8 in. (55.5 x 40.4 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1946 (46.140.28). Image: © The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Johannes de Sacrobosco (a.k.a. John Holybush), British (?) (active in Paris ca. 1220–ca. 1256), George von Puerbach, Austrian (1423–1461), and Johann Regiomontanus, German (1436–1476). Sphaera Mundi (Sphere of the World), 1485. Published in Venice by Erhard Ratdolt. 7 5/8 x 5 3/8 x 1/2 in. (19.4 x 13.6 x 1.2 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, Gift of Paul J. Sachs, 1917 (17.45). Image: © The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Honoré Daumier, French (1808–1879). Rue Transnonain, le 15 Avril, 1834, plate 24, published in L’Association mensuelle lithographique, July 1834. Printed by Delaunois, Paris. Lithograph, 14 3/8 × 21 3/4 in. (36.4 × 55.1 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Rogers Fund, 1920 (20.23). Image: © The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, French (1864–1901) Moulin Rouge: La Goulue, 1891. Printed by Affiches Américaines, Charles Lévy, Paris. Lithograph, second state of four, 74 7/8 × 45 7/8 in. (190 × 116.5 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1932 (32.88.12). Image: © The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Jules Chéret, French (1836–1932) Pantomimes Lumineuses, Théâtre Optique de E. Reynaud, 1892. Printed by Imprimerie Chaix (Ateliers Chéret), Paris. Lithograph, 46 1/2 × 34 5/8 in. (118 × 88 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Bessie Potter Vonnoh, 1941 (41.12.119) Image: © The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Benjamin Pollock, British (1857–1937). Characters and Scenes from Jack the Giant Killer for a Toy Theater, 1870–90. Lithograph, 6¾ × 8½ in. (17 × 21.4 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1952 (52.541.1[3]). Image: © The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Frank Hazenplug, American (1873/74–1931) The Chap-Book, 1896 Published by Stone and Kimball, Chicago Lithograph 20 5/8 × 14 1/4 in. (52.2 × 36 cm) The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum Accession, transferred from the Library (57.627.7 [2]) Image: © The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Edward Penfield, American (1866–1925). One image from Calendar for the Year 1897, printed 1896. Published by R. H. Russell & Son, New York.. Lithographs with commercial relief process Approximately 14 × 10 1/4 in. (35.6 × 26 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1965 (65.658.40[1]). Image: © The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York