The Woodner family collection, founded by the collector Ian Woodner, presents European drawing from its first flowering in the early Renaissance to the early years of the 20th-century.

Widely regarded as one of the greatest draughtsmen of all time, Annibale Carracci (1560-1609) is celebrated for his naturalism. Born in a time when the elegant deformations and exaggerations of Italian mannerism were still in vogue, Carracci turned instead to nature as his principal inspiration. Much attuned to the everyday world around him, he took as much interest in studying a man bowling, a butcher weighing a piece of meat, or a street entertainer with his monkey as he did in the preparatory studies for his grand mythological and religious paintings. The fruit of this intensive study is abundantly evident in his magnificent drawings of the human figure - from his early works in Bologna to those made in preparation for his greatest commission, the decoration of the Farnese Gallery in Rome. This stunning publication brings together a plethora of Carracci's masterful drawings to provide a unique insight into the technique and skill of one of the premier artists of his time.

This newest volume in Hudson Hills Press's acclaimed series about leading collections of master drawings presents sixty-eight great sheets, all reproduced in full-color, including many versos, from one of the finest college museums in America.

Arranged chronologically, the five chapters present the image of the garden as it evolves from the Middle Ages through the nineteenth century. Early prints illustrate biblical garden scenes and medieval gardens of love, while Renaissance images portray secular gardens and typographical plans and views. The grand style of the garden design emerges in the baroque period, followed by a more natural style in the eighteenth century. In the nineteenth century, garden imagery changes as artists begin to depict small, private gardens and public parks rather than the great aristocratic estates.

Some 250 works explore three distinct periods in American history when mainstream and outlier artists intersected, ushering in new paradigms based on inclusion, integration, and assimilation. The exhibition aligns work by such diverse artists as Charles Sheeler, Christina Ramberg, and Matt Mullican with both historic folk art and works by self-taught artists ranging from Horace Pippin to Janet Sobel and Joseph Yoakum. It also examines a recent influx of radically expressive work made on the margins that redefined the boundaries of the mainstream art world, while challenging the very categories of "outsider" and "self-taught." Historicizing the shifting identity and role of this distinctly American version of modernism's "other," the exhibition probes assumptions about creativity, artistic practice, and the role of the artist in contemporary culture. The exhibition is curated by Lynne Cooke, senior curator, special projects in modern art, National Gallery of Art.--Provided by publisher.

Published in conjunction with an exhibition organized by and presented at The Art Institute of Chicago, Sept. 25, 2010-Jan. 2, 2011.

Catalog of an exhibition held at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., May 16-Nov. 28, 2010.