Established in 1916 when founding trustee Herschel V. Jones donated a collection of 5,000 prints, the Department of Prints and Drawings at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts is responsible for the care, exhibition, and acquisition of works of art on paper. These include woodcuts, engravings, etchings, lithographs, screenprints, drawings, watercolors, pastels, monotypes, multiples, artists' books, and rare books. Ranging from early 14th-century illuminated manuscripts to contemporary works on paper, the museum's permanent collection of prints and drawings is encyclopedic in scope and comprehensive in graphic media.

Internationally recognized for its exceptional quality and depth, the collection today contains around 42,000 original works of art. Among the highlights are old master prints by Albrecht Dürer and Rembrandt van Rijn; a rare presentation copy of Francisco de Goya's Los Caprichos; 19th-century French and British prints and drawings; German Expressionist prints; the Minnich Collection of botanical, zoological, fashion, and ornamental illustration from the 15th through 20th centuries; contemporary American and European prints and drawings; the Vermillion Editions Limited Archival Collection; and a wide array of works by Minnesota and regional artists. The collection has been enhanced by the gifts of many generous donors, such as John E. Andrus III, Ruth and Bruce Dayton, Richard L. Hillstrom, Janet and Winton Jones, Norman and Edith Garmezy and the Print and Drawing Curatorial Council.

featured objects in this collection »

Dennis Michael Jon
Associate Curator
Department: Prints and Drawings
profile »

Rachel McGarry, Ph.D
Adjunct Assistant Curator
Department: Prints and Drawings
profile »

Lisa Dickinson Michaux, Ph.D
Associate Curator
Department: Prints and Drawings
profile »

Thomas E. Rassieur
John E. Andrus III Curator of Prints and Drawings
Department: Prints and Drawings
profile »