MELBOURNE.- Opening 21 August, the National Gallery of Victoria will present Building a Collection: Recent Acquisitions of Prints and Drawings, a fascinating selection of the most outstanding works on paper that have entered the NGV Collection since 2002.

The exhibition will feature some 70 Australian and international works from the NGV’s extensive Prints and Drawings collection, which span the 15th to 21st centuries.

Cathy Leahy, Senior Curator Prints and Drawings, NGV said: “The works in this exhibition provide insight into the remarkable range of material acquired, revealing the collecting directions that have been pursued in recent years.”

Since 2002, over 1000 works on paper have entered the NGV Collection through purchase, donation or bequest.

Dr Gerard Vaughan, NGV Director said: “This exhibition will not only survey superb highlights from recent NGV Prints and Drawings acquisitions, but will also pay tribute to our supporters, patrons and donors, whose assistance has been critical to the growth of the NGV Collection.”

The works on display will range from the earliest print in the NGV Collection, Primo Mobile, an Italian engraving from the 1460s acquired in 2002, through to the Gallery’s most recent purchase of two major colour etchings created in 2005 by the Irish-American abstract painter, Sean Scully.

A highlight of the exhibition will be the unveiling of a black and white chalk drawing made by Giandomenico Tiepolo as a record of his father’s painting The Banquet of Cleopatra, before the picture, now in the NGV Collection, left the studio in 1744. This is one of the most important drawings to be acquired by the NGV in recent years.

Another significant work will be Joseph Lycett’s landmark album, Views of Australia (1824-25) on display for the first time. This important historical album features fascinating images of Colonial Australia and was only acquired for the NGV collection last year.

This exhibition will coincide with the launch of the NGV’s Prints and Drawings supporters group. This group will help to build dedicated funds for the development of one of the Gallery’s most important collections.

Building a Collection: Recent Acquisitions of Prints and Drawings will be on display at NGV International on St Kilda Road from 21 August 2009 to 31 January 2010. The exhibition will be open 10am–5pm, closed Tuesdays. Admission is free.