Dubuffet Drawings, 1935–1962

A leading French artist of the twentieth century, Jean Dubuffet (1901–1985) eschewed traditional notions of beauty in art in favor of what he perceived as more authentic forms of expression, inspired by graffiti, children’s drawings, and the creations of psychiatric patients. Drawing played a major role in his development as he explored on paper new subjects and techniques and experimented with non-traditional tools and modes of application.  

Despite his essential role in the postwar avant-garde and his continuous influence on the art of the following decades, Dubuffet has received less attention than other artists of his generation. This exhibition is the first museum retrospective of Dubuffet’s drawings. It includes about one hundred works from his most innovative years — between 1935 and 1962 — borrowed from private and public collections in France and the United States. Dubuffet applied his radical approach to subjects ranging from views of Paris and its metro to nudes, portraits of writers, majestic beards, and scenes from the Sahara desert. His art has been influential on later generations of artists up to today.

Exhibition overview from museum website

Whether you go or not, the exhibition catalog, Dubuffet Drawings 1935-1962, features more than one hundred drawings representing Dubuffet’s development during his most innovative decades––the 1940s and 1950s. Like the exhibition, it includes rarely seen works and major loans from public and private collections in the United States and France. 150 illustrations in color and black-and-white