Our galleries are ever-changing, with new installations occurring each month throughout the museums. This fall, explore a wide variety of works on paper.

Ancient Greek Mythology in Modern Japanese Woodblock Prints 

Japanese artist Hagiwara Hideo, working in the mid-20th century, believed that ancient Greek myths mirrored the complexity of human nature and remained relevant in modern times. His Greek Mythology portfolio meditates on the desires, jealousies, and egos that drive mortals and non-mortals alike, often leading to their tragic downfall. 

Hagiwara’s artistic choices match the dynamism and complexity of the myths he illustrated. He used a combination of traditional Japanese woodblock and European intaglio techniques to activate each scene with crackling textures and overlapping lines.

Glaukos (Glaucus) was a fisherman who transformed into an immortal sea creature after consuming a magic herb. Here, Glaucus gazes admiringly at the nymph Scylla, her legs just visible in the upper right. Hoping to win Scylla’s heart, Glaucus asked the goddess Circe for a love potion, unaware that Circe had feelings for him. The jealous Circe provided a potion that transformed Scylla into a monster.  

Enchanted by Hagiwara’s portrayal of Glaucus? Visit Gallery 2130 to see it in person alongside the artist’s depictions of Phaethon and Thamyris, on view through January 1, 2026.

This text has been adapted from gallery text written by curatorial fellow Lillian Wies.

Decoding Collectors’ Marks 

The group of numbers and letters in the lower right corner of this drawing by a follower of Michelangelo is called a collector’s mark—an important clue that allows us to trace part of the provenance, or history of ownership, of a work. For centuries, collectors’ marks were (and still are) applied to European and American drawings and prints to signal their ownership.

Traditionally, a collector devised a unique mark that could be stamped or inscribed on the front or back of the works. Executors and auction houses also applied marks to works from a deceased artist’s estate to confer authenticity. Although most marks include letters of the alphabet, many are images, such as coats of arms and crests, animals, plants and flowers, and suns and stars.

Collectors’ marks began to be identified and catalogued in the late 19th century. In 1921, Dutch scholar and collector Frits Lugt published Les marques de collections de dessins et d’estampes (Collectors’ Marks on Drawings and Prints). Lugt organized the marks alphabetically and included the name of the collector and biographical details.

In this drawing, you can see the following collectors’ marks:

According to Lugt’s catalogue, the first mark indicates the work was owned by Prosper Flury-Hérard (1804–1873), who was a banker in Paris. The second mark was stamped by Eugène Rodriguez (b. 1853), a lawyer in Paris.

See an installation of drawings with prominent collectors’ marks in Gallery 2400 through November 6, 2025.

This text has been adapted from gallery text written by curator Miriam Stewart.

As the World Turns

In Moon Studies and Star Scratches, Sharon Harper explores the intertwining scales of cosmic, human, and photographic time. These works simultaneously capture the time it takes for the light from the cosmos to reach the earth and reveal the difference between how humans and photographs register that light.  

Using a large-format camera and tripod, Harper created each composition over a four-month period and from various locations. In a single photograph, Harper layers the results of multiple long exposures of the night sky onto a single large-format color transparency film. Each appearance of the moon accounts for an incidence of exposure. Time, or the length of an exposure, is recorded by the blurred passage of clouds passing in front of the moon and by the delicate lines drawn by the light of the stars onto the film as the earth rotates. How the many overlaid exposures would come together in a final composition would be seen only after the film was developed and printed.

A trio of prints from Moon Studies and Star Scratches will be on view in Gallery 1120 through April 1, 2026.

This text has been adapted from gallery text written by curator Mitra Abbaspour.

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Tara Metal is the Digital Content Manager and Strategist at the Harvard Art Museums.