Art Academy of Cincinnati at 150: A Celebration in Drawings and Prints

The Art Museum celebrates 150 years of creativity with this exhibition of works on paper by alumni and faculty of the Art Academy of Cincinnati (AAC). Selected from the museum’s collection, more than 90 masterful drawings and prints reflect the intrinsic connections between the museum and this esteemed art school.

Spanning the academy’s early years in the 19^th century as the McMicken School of Design to the present day, the exhibition presents an array of subjects and approaches to art-making. Academic figure studies feature prominently, amid examples of still life, portraiture, landscape and abstraction. Frank Duveneck, Elizabeth Nourse, Charley Harper and Tom Wesselmann are just a few of the widely recognized artists associated with the academy. The museum’s ongoing commitment to collecting the work of living Cincinnati artists is reflected in examples by Constance McClure, John Ruthven, Petah Coyne, Mark Fox and others.

Once unified under a single administration, and for many years right next door, the museum and academy have intertwined histories. Throughout the years, the museum’s collections have provided inspiration and stimulated dialogue for the academy’s students and instructors. Visit the permanent collection galleries to see paintings, sculpture and decorative arts by artists educated or employed in the academy’s vital classrooms.