Mr. Prudhomme and young Adolph, from 'News of the Day,' published in Le Charivari, January 27, 1860

Mr. Prudhomme and young Adolph, from 'News of the Day,' published in Le Charivari, January 27, 1860

Honoré Daumier

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Mr. PRUDHOMME: - My son, you must always remember this important day, when the walls of favorism have finally been torn down. Sooner or later, philosophy, the product of human reason will always demolish social barriers! Young Adolph: - Right Papa, but tell me... why are they being rebuilt a bit further down?

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Mr. Prudhomme and young Adolph, from 'News of the Day,' published in Le Charivari, January 27, 1860Mr. Prudhomme and young Adolph, from 'News of the Day,' published in Le Charivari, January 27, 1860Mr. Prudhomme and young Adolph, from 'News of the Day,' published in Le Charivari, January 27, 1860Mr. Prudhomme and young Adolph, from 'News of the Day,' published in Le Charivari, January 27, 1860Mr. Prudhomme and young Adolph, from 'News of the Day,' published in Le Charivari, January 27, 1860

The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.