The Printroom

Max Kade-Erich H. Markel Department of Graphic Arts

The Max Kade - Erich H. Markel Department of Graphic Arts at the Spencer Museum of Art houses nearly ten thousand works of art on paper (prints, drawings, photographs, and artists' books). The core of our old master collection of prints was given by the Max Kade Foundation, whose president at the time of the gift was the late Erich H. Markel. The facility includes a room for the study of works of art on paper that can accommodate a class of about twenty students. We call this the Printroom. We would like to consider the electronic images that you will look at here as an extension of the Printroom, a place where you can come to look at and think about works of art on paper.

Of course this kind of viewing is very different from looking at the original work of art. In addition to the problems of resolution and accurate color, works of art on paper have a multitude of special tactile qualities. While we offer you high resolution images scanned from photographs that have intentionally tried to show some of the texture and relief of the prints, there is no substitute for viewing an original. We hope that this site will serve as a catalyst for direct and personal study prints

Image Maps
Image maps of printmaking techniques.
Prints from the Collection
Index to selected prints at the Spencer Museum of Art Printroom.
Print Connoisseurship
Collectors' Marks, Inscriptions, Monograms and Conservation Issues.
Glossary of Printmaking Terms
From "Aquatint" to "Zincograph".
Alfred Jarry Exhibition
Ubu's Almanac: Alfred Jarry and the Graphic Arts was an exhibition on view at the Spencer Museum of Art, Univeristy of Kansas, from April 11 - May 31, 1998.
The Prairie Print Makers
The Prairie Print Makers Collection at the Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas, was originally assembled by Bud Jennings. Driven by the spirit of the hunt, Jennings pieced together a formidable archive of prints and materials relating the Prairie Print Makers.
Remembering the Family Farm
This exhibition examines the material culture of the American farm as documented by prints of farm implements, barns, silos, farmhouses, and outbuildings. The prints are from the collection of Steven Schmidt and the Spencer Museum of Art permanent collection.
Alberto Vargas Essays
Essays by Stephen Goddard, Maria Elena Buszek, Maureen Honey, Susie Bright and Andrea Dworkin.
Social Radicalism
This small exhibition of printed art from ca. 1900 to today presents activist artists whose work often rises above the simplistic notion of propaganda, drawing on their genuine sense of commitment and engagement to find novel ways to communicate their convicitons.