The Hundred Guilder Print, c. 1647-1649, etching by Rembrandt. For other uses of etch or etching, see Etching (disambiguation, for the history of the method see Old master prints. Most large print rooms should have an example of this print

A print room is either a room or industrial building where printing takes place, or a room in an art gallery, museum or archive, where a collection of old master and modern prints, usually together with drawings and watercolours, are held and viewed. Printing is a process for reproducing text and image typically with ink on Paper using a printing press An art gallery or art museum is a space for the exhibition of art, usually Visual art. A museum is a "permanent institution in the service of society and of its development open to the public which acquires conserves researches communicates and exhibits the An archive refers to a collection of historical records and also refers to the location in which these records are kept An old master print is a work of art produced by a Printing process within the Western tradition (European or New World Drawing is a Visual art that makes use of any number of drawing instruments to mark a two-dimensional medium Watercolor ( US) or Watercolour ( UK) (and "aquarelle" in French is a Painting method The latter meaning is the subject of this article. A further meaning is a room decorated by pasting prints onto the wall in a quasi-collage style to form a sort of wallpaper, an 18th century fashion, of which several examples survive. A collage (From the coller to glue is a work of formal art primarily in the Visual arts, made from an assemblage of different forms thus creating a new whole This page refers to the material used for Interior decoration. ^[1]

What a print room looks like

Since for conservation reasons these works cannot be permanently displayed (light, temperature and humidity conditions leave them vulnerable to damage, limiting the hang to no more than 6 months), they are kept in inert, acid-free boxes, albums or portfolios behind closed doors. Where possible, works on paper are mounted on archivally safe supports. Storage may be in the same room as the viewing is done (the 'Reading-' or 'Study Room'), but as the largest collections have well over a million items stores are often located 'behind the scenes', along with the curators' offices. Typically, the visitor sits at a desk equipped with a stand or easel, and the material requested is brought out for them by the curators, who are happy to offer further information about works and artists.

How to visit

Drawing of martyrs John and Paul by Guercino, Courtauld Institute, London

Most national collections can be seen by the public more easily than is often realised. Drawing is a Visual art that makes use of any number of drawing instruments to mark a two-dimensional medium John and Paul (Giovanni e Paolo are Saints in the Roman Catholic Church. Giovanni Francesco Barbieri ( February 8, 1591 — December 9, 1666) best known as Guercino or Il Guercino, was an The Courtauld Institute of Art is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the History of art. Usually, visitors of all sorts, whether researchers or not, are entitled to view works on paper not on display in the galleries, which will form the great majority of an institution's collection, thereby making print rooms an essential resource for enabling our understanding and appreciation of works on paper - in particular, how artists conceive of finished paintings through preparatory studies, and how printmaking traditions and techniques have evolved over the centuries. On a national level, print rooms tend to differ, each having their own specialism, however collections often overlap in content.

There are links to lists of print rooms at the end of the article; most lead to the gallery's or museum's web-pages, which explain visiting arrangements. In most cases appointments require to be made in advance, and proof of identity should usually be provided. While it is helpful to outline what you would like to see (including artists' names and catalogue numbers, which may be available online or in books), visitors are also usually welcome to discuss their needs more casually by phoning or emailing in advance of their appointment. It is important to remember that not all material will be available to view, depending on current loans and exhibitions commitments and the condition of works.

Often not in the expected museum

Ukiyo-e coloured woodcut by Hokusai

Because of the need to keep them stored, prints and drawings are sometimes associated with library collections rather than collections of paintings. "pictures of the floating world" is a genre of Japanese woodblock prints (or Woodcuts) and Paintings produced between the 17th For the origins of the technique and non-artistic use see Woodblock printing; for the related technique invented in the 18th century see Wood engraving was a Japanese Artist, Ukiyo-e painter and Printmaker of the Edo period. A library is a collection of information sources resources and services and the structure in which it is housed it is organized for use and maintained by a public body an institution For example in Paris the main print (but not drawings) collection is in the Bibliotheque Nationale de France, not the Louvre. The Louvre Museum (Musée du Louvre located in Paris is the world's most visited art museum a historic monument and a national museum of France In New York and Washington, both the main art museums (Metropolitan Museum of Art and National Gallery of Art Washington) and the libraries (New York Public Library and Library of Congress)all have important, though very different, collections. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is an art museum located on the eastern edge of Central Park, along what is known as Museum Mile in New York City, This article is about the National Gallery of the United States for other National Galleries see National Gallery. The New York Public Library ( NYPL) is one of the leading public libraries of the world and is one of America's most significant Research libraries. The Library of Congress is the De facto National library of the United States and the research arm of the United States Congress What is by general consent the world's greatest collection overall is in a separate institution, the Albertina (Vienna), which has been closed for some years for reconstruction. The Albertina is a Museum in the Innere Stadt (First District of Vienna, Austria. Material from non-Western traditions - in particular, Asian material, including Japanese prints - may or may not be in the same department, or the same institution.

In London, the National Gallery holds no works on paper; only paintings and sculptures of the European tradition. The main collection of Western prints and drawings is held in the British Museum and includes fine examples by the Old Masters. The British Museum is a Museum of human history and culture in London. Originally known as the national gallery of British art, Tate Britain holds British prints and drawings, which include the world's largest collection of watercolours, sketches and engravings by JMW Turner, historic works on paper from the late 18th and 19th centuries, and modern and contemporary British and International prints. Tate Britain is a part of the Tate gallery network in Britain, with Tate Modern, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. The Victoria and Albert Museum's works on paper collection has a particularly broad remit, encompassing works of fine and applied art (including posters) as well as ephemera. The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design housing a permanent collection

See also

• Print Room, Windsor the print room of the Royal Collection

Notes

References and external links

• Delinavit et Sculpsit — the major print rooms of the world.
• Print Alliance of America — a long list of print rooms in the USA & Canada only. Numbers given refer to contemporary art prints only; most collections have other works as well. Contemporary art can be defined variously as art produced at this present point in time or art produced since World War II.
• Bodkin Prints — a virtual print-room. Links to well over 10,000 online images of prints.
• [1] - British Museum's Department of Prints and Drawings, London
• [2] - Tate Britain's Prints and Drawings Rooms, London
• [3] - Victoria & Albert Museum's Prints and Drawings Study Rooms, London