Ornament By Design

23 April – 12 June 2016

Ornament by Design examined the interplay between ornament and architecture in drawing. It traced the manifold ways in which the subtle, seductive lines of ornament can transform the surface of buildings and things into objects of desire.  The display presented a range of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century French drawings: architectural elevations and sections, designs for ceilings and garden ornaments, capriccios and studies for specific motifs such ornamental brackets and frames.