Skip to Main Content

Italian Master Drawings from the British Royal Collection

May 10 – July 26, 1987
East Building, Ground Floor, Northwest, Pod II (3,500 sq. ft.)

Installation view of Italian Master Drawings from the British Royal Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., Gallery Archives

This exhibition is no longer on view at the National Gallery.

Overview: 61 drawings from the 15th to the 18th century were on view, from Fra Angelico to Canaletto. Included were 7 drawings of arms and hands by Leonardo da Vinci, one of which was thought to be a study for the Gallery's portrait of Ginevra de' Benci; 3 drawings by Raphael; and 4 by Michelangelo. Derived from a larger survey held at the Queen's Gallery in London, this exhibition opened in Washington in the presence of H.R.H. Princess Alexandra.

Organization: The exhibition was organized by Jane Roberts, curator of the print room at the Royal Library, Windsor. The coordinator was Andrew Robison.

Sponsor: The exhibition was supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities. Pan American World Airways provided transportation.

Attendance: 103,692

Catalog: Italian Master Drawings from the British Royal Collection: Leonardo to Canaletto, by Jane Roberts. London: Collins Harvill, 1987.

Other Venues: Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, August 8–October 25, 1987
Art Institute of Chicago, November 10, 1987–January 26, 1988