Demystifying drawings
HOW TO: VISIT A PRINT ROOM
FIRST AND FOREMOST, WHAT EXACTLY IS A PRINT ROOM?
A Print Room is a room in a museum, gallery or library where works on paper can be viewed upon request. Museums cannot overexpose their drawings to light and so they are often kept in carefully controlled conditions and safely stored within boxes inside a Print Room. Although the drawings may be stowed away, they are not inaccessible. In fact, arranging to see a drawing by Rubens or Picasso is a lot easier than you might think. It’s also completely free.
Drs Ketty Gottardo and Rachel Sloan, curator and assistant curator of works on paper at the Courtauld, have kindly walked us through the process for using their Print Room.
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Search the museum’s digital collection
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Choose approximately 10 drawings to view.
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Email a list to printsanddrawings@courtauld.ac.uk with preferably a week’s notice to arrange a viewing time.
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Turn up at the arranged time and enjoy!
“ You’ll be delighted to discover works by a broad range of artists from Michelangelo and Rembrandt, to Cezanne, Vanessa Bell and Auerbach. The intimate space of the Study Room will surely conquer you, the perfect place to enjoy a close encounters with famous and lesser known drawings. Come as you are, we’ll lend you a pencil if you forgot it!”
Remember to bring an official form of identification to your first appointment. Photography is allowed for personal use.
