Washington, DC—The National Gallery of Art presents the first exhibition in the United States to focus on Augsburg’s artistic achievements in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. Imperial Augsburg: Renaissance Prints and Drawings, 1475–1540 will be on view in the West Building Ground Floor galleries from September 30 through December 31, 2012. The last major exhibition on this subject was mounted more than three decades ago in Augsburg—one of Germany’s oldest cities—whose Renaissance heritage has long been eclipsed in America by Albrecht Dürer’s Nuremberg.
While focusing on prints, drawings, and illustrated books, the exhibition also includes medals and one etched set of armor. Of the 103 works presented, 86 are from the National Gallery’s own collection, with additional loans from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Morgan Library and Museum, New York; the Library of Congress; Andrea Woodner; and several private collections.
“It is truly remarkable that the rich and varied history of works on paper in Renaissance Augsburg can be told almost entirely through the Gallery’s extensive collection of German prints, drawings, and illustrated books—thanks in large part to the contributions of donors over the course of many decades,” said Earl A. Powell III, director, National Gallery of Art. “We are indebted to the private collectors and public institutions who have so generously lent to this exhibition, and we extend our deep appreciation to the Thaw Charitable Trust, and to Gene and Clare Thaw, for making this exhibition and catalogue possible.”
The exhibition will travel to the Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art at the University of Texas at Austin (October 5, 2013–January 5, 2014), and then to the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center at Vassar College (September 19–December 14, 2014). The accompanying catalogue—the first of its kind in English—serves as an introduction to Augsburg, its artists and its cultural history, during this period.
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