The Gilbert and Ildiko Butler Drawings Gallery
19 Nov 2021 – 27 Feb 2022
Pen to Brush, the opening display in the dedicated Gilbert and Ildiko Butler Drawings Gallery, features highlights from The Courtauld’s remarkable collection of British drawings and watercolours.
They range from one of the earliest and smallest works in the collection, a pen and ink drawing by Isaac Oliver measuring just 47 x 59 mm (around 1565-1617), to Henry Moore’s powerful wartime Shelter Drawing (1942).
Works from the ‘golden age’ of British watercolour include examples by J.M.W. Turner, John Constable and Edward Dayes’ panoramic view of Somerset House from the Thames. A highlight is little-known abstract drawing, Vorticist Composition with Figures, Black and White (1915), by Helen Saunders, one of only two female members of the early 20th-century avant-garde Vorticist group.
This display is included in the admission ticket to The Courtauld Gallery.
Highlights on display
![](https://courtauld.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/D.1952.RW_.1259-600x0-c-default.png)
![A watercolour view by JMW Turner of Rome from San Pietro in Montorio](https://courtauld.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/D.2007.DS_.53-600x0-c-default.jpg)
![A black and white landscape with sheep and cattle on the bank of a stream by Thomas Gainsborough](https://courtauld.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/D.1952.RW_.2432-600x0-c-default.png)
![A bold drawing in thick black graphite and ink, on a slightly aged paper. At the bottom, linear forms slightly resemble human forms, and they surround a circular post-like form in the centre of the sheet. On the top half, building-like forms sit atop the black background, with sharp lines of black and white dotting the background.](https://courtauld.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/D.2016.XX_.18-scaled-600x0-c-default.jpg)
Virtual tour
You can now explore Pen to Brush in a new virtual tour, on the Vortic art platform.
Launch the tour![Virtual reality gallery interior](https://courtauld.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Vortic-Pen-to-Brush-Display-2-0x700-c-default.png)