Detail from: Antonio Canal, called Canaletto (Italian, 1697-1768), An Imaginary View of Venice, ca.1735-1743, Etching on paper. Gift of Jean K. Weil in memory of Adolph 'Bucks' Weil, Jr.
The Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts has one of the finest collections and facilities for the study of works on paper of any municipal museum in the country. The Museum holds woodcuts, etchings, engravings and other multiples by artists from the 15th to the 19th century as part of its European master print collection.
The Weil Graphic Arts Study Center, built in 1998, is named in honor of Mr. Adolph “Bucks” Weil, Jr., a connoisseur of European prints made before 1900. The center serves as a rotating gallery for the installation of works on paper as well as a state-of-the-art classroom and meeting space. Groups of students are able to utilize the facility to further explore topics in art history related to graphic arts, aided by a special slantboard case which allows more flexible installation of matted paper works.
The Weil Collection of Old Master Prints
Many of the outstanding printmakers of art history are represented in the Museum’s collection. The collection includes 15thcentury engravers such as Martin Schongauer and Albrecht Dürer to one of the world’s most beloved practitioners, Rembrandt van Rijn, as well as etchings by Canaletto, and aquatints by Goya and lithographs by Whistler. The array of printmaking techniques and artists presents the rich heritage of this art form in Western culture.