Mastery & Elegance: Two Centuries of French Drawings from the Collection of Jeffrey E. Horvitz

December 5, 1998–January 31, 1999, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Harvard University Art Museums, February 20, 1999–April 18, 1999, Art Gallery of Ontario, May 1, 1999–June 25, 1999, Musée Jacquemart-André, July 9, 1999–September 5, 1999, National Gallery of Scotland, October 8, 1999–December 12, 1999, National Academy Museum and School of Fine Art, February 24, 2000–April 24, 2000, Los Angeles County Museum of Art

December 5, 1998–January 31, 1999 Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Harvard University Art Museums February 20, 1999–April 18, 1999 Art Gallery of Ontario May 1, 1999–June 25, 1999 Musée Jacquemart-André July 9, 1999–September 5, 1999 National Gallery of Scotland October 8, 1999–December 12, 1999 National Academy Museum and School of Fine Art February 24, 2000–April 24, 2000 Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Over the past decade, Jeffrey E. Horvitz, a private investor, has assembled the most comprehensive private American collection of early French drawings. For the first time Mastery & Elegance presents a selection of approximately 115 works from this collection dating from the early-17th to the early-19th century by approximately 70 artists. This presentation follows years of significant scholarly research on these drawings that, combined with the exhibition catalogue, make a significant contribution to this relatively understudied field.

In addition to remarkable drawings by such well-known draftsmen as Nicolas Poussin, Claude Lorrain, Simon Vouet, Antoine Watteau, François Le Moyne, François Boucher, Jean-Baptiste Greuze, Jean-Honoré Fragonard, and Jacques-Louis David, the exhibition includes superb examples of the work of lesser-known figures such as Grégoire Huret, Louis Galloche, Jean-Laurent Legeay, Gabriel-François Doyen, Joseph-Benoît Suvée, François-André Vincent, Marie-Gabrielle Capet, and Carle Vernet.

Organized by Alvin L. Clark, Jr., Jeffrey E. Horvitz Research Curator, Department of Drawings, Fogg Art Museum, and William W. Robinson, curator of drawings, Fogg Art Museum.

The fully-illustrated catalogue, Mastery & Elegance: Two Centuries of French Drawings from the Collection of Jeffrey E. Horvitz, is organized and edited by Alvin L. Clark, Jr., with Margaret Morgan Grasselli (National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.), Jean-François Méjanès (Musée du Louvre, Paris), and William W. Robinson, with contributions by a team of over 35 international scholars. It comprises an introduction, two essays by Alain Mérot & Sophie Raux-Carpentier (Université de Lille) and Marianne Roland Michel (Galerie Cailleux, Paris), an interview with the collector, and extensive catalogue entries.

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Mastery & Elegance: Two Centuries of French Drawings from the Collection of Jeffrey E. Horvitz