A forthcoming exhibition at the Palmer Museum of Art at Pennsylvania State University focuses on a major gift of important American drawings from the collection of Penn State alumnus, respected scholar and collector Dr. John P. Driscoll. Having earned a master’s degree and Ph.D. in art history, he began participating in the university’s art museum in 1972 working as a registrar before leaving the university to become a curator. Since then, among many other endeavors, Driscoll has established galleries in Boston and New York, renaming his business Driscoll Babcock in 2012. The works found throughout Driscoll’s entire collection span more than 150 years of American art history from around 1798 to 1950. 

Drawing on a Legacy: Highlights from the John Driscoll American Drawings Collection showcases 30 highlights from the gift’s total 140.

 “Because of the impressive breadth of the gift, it was difficult to limit the selection of works. But it’s a good problem to have, of course—and exciting that portions from the gift can be shown and thought about in any number of ways,” says Adam Thomas, curator of American art at the Palmer Museum. “There’s certainly an abundance of material for further research and study. Plus, the gift comprises multiple examples by Hudson River School artists William Trost Richards, Sanford Robinson Gifford and David Johnson, among others.” William Trost Richards (1833-1905), Landscape, ca. 1865. Graphite and gouache on paper, 17½ x 23½ in. John Driscoll American Drawings Collection.

John William Hill (1812-1879), Under the Falls, Niagara, ca. 1870. Watercolor on paper, 29 x 21½ in. John Driscoll American Drawings Collection.Other artists found in the exhibition include George de Forest Brush, Harry Fenn, Seymour Joseph Guy, Henry Inman, Helen Searle and John Vanderlyn. The collection as a whole makes an immense impression on the Palmer Museum’s legacy as an art institution. “Rarely do gifts of art to a museum transform a collection. In quality, size and scope, John Driscoll’s gift is truly transformative. This gift of significant drawings, watercolors and sketchbooks wonderfully complements and greatly enhances the museum’s extensive collection of 19th- and early-20th-century American painting,” says museum director Erin M. Coe. “Thanks to John’s generosity we will be able to provide a more comprehensive history of American art to our tens of thousands of visitors each year.” Seymour Joseph Guy (1824-1910), Young Boy with Toys, 1867. Pen and ink on paper, 13¾ x 9 in. John Driscoll American Drawings Collection.

George de Forest Brush (1855-1941), Crouching Indian, ca. 1916. Chalk on paperboard, 127/8 x 19¾ in. John Driscoll American Drawings Collection.

“This first exhibition will be presented in a space adjacent to the museum’s Snowiss Gallery, which features American paintings and sculpture from the late-18th century to just after the turn of the 20th century,” says Thomas. “The drawings—dated about 1798 to 1916—will roughly track this sweep of time and, as a whole, complement and expand on works on view in the permanent collection galleries. The effort here was to balance different kinds of depictions—landscapes, still life, figurative—as well as different eras and different drawing mediums,” he says.Henry Inman (1801-1946), Portrait of William T. Porter, 1844. Graphite on paper, 11 x 8¾ in. John Driscoll American Drawings Collection.

Harry Fenn (1845-1911), Floral Still Life, 1867. Watercolor on paper, 15¼ x 11¼ in. John Driscoll American Drawings Collection.

He touches on several standout pieces in the exhibition: “I’m particularly infatuated by John William Hill’s Under the Falls, Niagara, a tour-de-force watercolor—it’s a relatively large sheet that is both highly detailed and dramatic in its monumentalizing of the great cataract. Seymour Joseph Guy’s Young Boy with Toys continues to fascinate me, both in the lively yet delicate hatching and in the suggestion of a forceful personality. Drawings by Guy seem a rarity. Indeed, this may be, as far as I can tell, the only extant drawing Guy made.”

Drawing on a Legacy will be on view beginning January 21 and running through June 7. —

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