Diane Edison: Self-Portrait Standing, 1991 Purchased with Gallery Contributions, 1992
Large Drawings
In the summer of 1996, the Arkansas Arts Center put together an exhibition and accompanying catalogue to celebrate a powerful aspect of drawings in the permanent collection -- those possessing at least one dimension of 48 inches or greater. Townsend Wolfe, former Director and Chief Curator, rightly observed that the works with larger dimensions share intrinsic traits not normally seen in more intimate works. He wrote, "The sheets on which the artists present their drawings are bold in concept, execution, and size… In looking at these drawings, we begin to see that the monumentality of size adds a physical and psychological value that is quite powerful." Large format drawings of this dimension are a relatively new phenomenon for draftsmen; thus, nearly all of the large drawings in the collection date from the mid-1970s and after. Notable artists among the collection include Robert Stackhouse, Donald Sultan, Elizabeth Murray, Diane Edison and William Beckman.
  
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