The first major exhibition of the Peck Collection since its donation by the late Drs. Sheldon and Leena Peck, Drawn to Life: Master Drawings from the Age of Rembrandt in the Peck Collection at the Ackland Art Museum includes over 70 exceptional Dutch drawings from the seventeenth century, many previously unpublished and rarely exhibited. The Pecks’ transformative gift of over 130 largely seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Dutch and Flemish drawings in 2017 established the Ackland as one of a handful of university art museums in the United States where scholars and students can study northern European drawings in depth.
Rembrandt (1606-1669), Landscape with Canal and Boats, ca. 1655
The Ackland Art Museum, Chapel Hill
Drawn to Life brings together a broad selection of images depicting landscapes, everyday life, portraits, preparatory studies, and biblical and historical scenes, forming a dynamic and representative group of drawings made by some of the most outstanding artists of the period. Drawings by well-known artists, such as Jacob van Ruisdael, Jan van Goyen, Adriaen van Ostade, Ferdinand Bol, Nicolaes Maes, Jan Lievens, and Gerard ter Borch, among others, appear alongside sheets by lesser-known artists like Guillam Du Bois, Herman Naiwincx, Willem Romeyn, and Jacob van der Ulft, demonstrating the discerning eye for quality developed by the Pecks over four decades. A number of drawings by Rembrandt van Rijn, the most celebrated artist of this period, and his pupils, represent a particular highlight of the exhibition.
Organized around five thematic groupings, including Artists at Work; The Traveling Artist; The New Landscape; Mirror of the Everyday; and Rembrandt and his Followers, Drawn to Life celebrates the creativity and technical skills of Dutch artists who explored the beauty of the natural world and the dynamic, multifaceted aspects of humanity.
Catalogue and website
The exhibition is curated by Dr. Dana Cowen, Sheldon Peck Curator for European and American Art before 1950, and Ackland Peck Research Fellow, Dr. Robert Fucci. An accompanying catalogue, researched and written by Robert Fucci, and published by Paul Holberton Publishing, introduces scholars and drawing enthusiasts to the depth and beauty of the Peck Collection. A website devoted to the entire Peck Collection, which will feature superior image viewing capabilities and up-to-date information, will launch at the time of the exhibition.
The exhibition will be on view at the Rembrandt House Museum in Amsterdam from 18 March to 11 June 2023.
Related CODART publications
Dr. Robert Fucci, “Drawn to Life: Master Drawings from the Age of Rembrandt in the Peck Collection at the Ackland Art Museum”, CODARTfeatures, September 2022.