Prints and Drawings

The National Gallery of Canada’s Prints and Drawings collection contains over 27,000 works on paper by Canadian, American and European artists. Notable both for its excellence and diversity, the collection represents all major schools from the 15th century to the contemporary period.

Canadian Prints and Drawings

With over 10,000 works on paper from the 18th century to the present day), the collection of Canadian prints and drawings offers a glimpse of the country’s rich diversity of artistic expression.

European, American and Asian Prints and Drawings

The European, American and Asian prints and drawings collection, which comprises more than 2,500 drawings and over 10,000 prints, is the most substantial in Canada and among the finest in North...

Friends of the Print Room

The Friends of the Print Room is a group of Gallery members who have a keen interest in works on paper, including prints, drawings and watercolours. In return for an annual donation, which goes towards the acquisition of works on paper, the Friends of the Print Room meet for sessions with curators and other art specialists to share knowledge and expertise. Activities feature exhibition tours and talks held in the Prints, Drawings and Photographs Study Room in the presence of artwork pulled from our vaults. To find out more on how to become a Friend, contact fopr@gallery.ca.

 

Prints, Drawings and Photographs Study Room

The collection is accessible in the Prints, Drawings and Photographs Study Room. Individuals interested in researching the collection and small academic groups are welcome by appointment on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 1:30 to 4:00 pm. To request an appointment, please fill out all sections of the Visitor Application Form at least two weeks in advance for individuals and four weeks in advance for academic groups.

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Collection

Curatorial Team

Sonia Del Re, Senior Curator of Prints and Drawings

Dr. Sonia Del Re holds a Master’s degree in Museology and a Ph.D. in Art History. She oversees a collection of about 25,000 works on paper created on three continents over the span of six centuries. She has curated exhibitions across the country and the Atlantic based on the national collection, including Beautiful Monsters: Beasts and Fantastic Creatures in Early European Prints; Storms and Bright Skies: Three Centuries of Dutch Landscapes; The Noble Art of the Carracci and their School; M. C. Escher: The Mathemagician  (as Coordinating Curator); Chagall: Daphnis & Chloé; Beauty’s Awakening: Drawings by the Pre-Raphaelites and Their Contemporaries from the Lanigan Collection; and Picasso: Man and Beast. The Vollard Suite of Prints.