We invite you to the opening lecture for the special exhibition Sketch, Shade, Smudge: Drawing from Gray to Black, on view from September 12, 2025 through January 18, 2026.

In her lecture, Kimberly Schenck, former head of paper conservation at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., will discuss the diversity of black drawing media and how it affords artists different mark-making possibilities. Textures can range from crumbly to waxy, and marks made from pencils and sticks can be manipulated with tools such as fingertips, rolled paper stumps, and chamois cloths to create a range of tones. Artists also choose the paper for their media carefully—for its surface texture, resiliency, and color.