Drawing as Practice will focus on drawing as the medium and practice that connects many divergent points of interest in the founding and history of the National Academy of Design. What started as a drawing club in the first half of the 19th century brought together artists and architects in dialogue through instruction and exhibitions of representational, figurative, and architectural drawing. Nearly 200 years later, the multidisciplinary character of the National Academy’s membership incorporates myriad artistic and architectural approaches that are both reflective of the many aesthetic and technological developments throughout American art history and indicative of the role of drawing since the organization was founded. With an emphasis on technique, representation, and abstraction, Drawing as Practice illustrates how drawing is a through-line in the National Academy’s history that connects widely diverse contemporary practices of the National Academicians active today.
August 10, 2023
