Drawn to Life

A selection of seventy exceptional seventeenth-century Dutch drawings. This beautifully illustrated catalog presents a selection of exceptional seventeenth-century Dutch drawings from the Peck Collection in the Ackland Art Museum at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Featuring many previously unpublished and rarely exhibited works, the catalog brings together examples by some of the best-known artists of the era, including Rembrandt, Jacques de Gheyn II, Samuel van Hoogstraten, and Frans van Mieris. The collection was donated to the museum in 2017 by the late Drs. Sheldon and Leena Peck. The transformative gift is comprised of over 130 largely seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Dutch and Flemish drawings, establishing the Ackland as one of a handful of university art museums in the United States where northern European drawings can be studied in depth. Drawn to Life presents seventy works from this exceptional and diverse group of drawings amassed by the Pecks over four decades. Featuring new research and fresh insights into seventeenth-century drawing practice, the catalog and accompanying exhibition celebrate the creativity and technical skills of Dutch artists who explored the beauty of the natural world and the multifaceted aspects of humanity. Meticulously researched and written by Robert Fucci, Drawn to Life introduces both scholars and drawings enthusiasts to the depth and beauty of the Peck Collection at the Ackland Art Museum.

Author Biography

Robert Fucci is a lecturer in art history at the University of Amsterdam and serves as the Peck Collection Research Fellow for the Ackland Art Museum at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Peter Nisbet is deputy director for curatorial affairs at the Ackland Art Museum at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.