#NYFAPartner Spotlight | The IFPDA Foundation & The Richard Hamilton Acquisition Prize

The Richard Hamilton Acquisition Prize enables museums worldwide to bring fine prints to the public. This year’s prize winner: the Krannert Art Museum.

The IFPDA Foundation was established by the International Fine Print Dealers Association (IFPDA) in 2009 to inspire and support educational projects aimed at fostering connoisseurship in the field of fine prints for a new generation of collectors, curators, and specialists. Through its annual grants program, the IFPDA Foundation provides financial support to exhibitions and scholarly projects that cultivate a deeper understanding of prints and their value as an art form.

The Richard Hamilton Acquisition Prize

Funded through the generosity of Champion & Partners, the prize is administered by the IFPDA Foundation and provides $10,000 for a Museum’s acquisition of one or more prints from any period at the IFPDA Fine Art Print Fair, held in New York each fall. The 2017 prize is the sixth to be awarded by the IFPDA Foundation, which oversees the selection process. Any museum worldwide that is open to the public and primarily devoted to the exhibition of works of art is eligible for consideration and may apply in writing to the IFPDA Foundation. Previous recipients have used the funds to acquire prints by Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Jacob Lawrence, and Ida Applebroog, a NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellow in Graphics ‘86, Painting ‘90.

In naming the prize, Champion & Partners has chosen to honor the late Richard Hamilton, as a tribute to the artist’s influence on their own appreciation of prints and to acknowledge his impact on generations of printmakers. Any museum worldwide that is open to the public and primarily devoted to the exhibition of works of fine art is eligible. Learn more about the prize, past recipients, and eligibility guidelines here.

Dürer Print Acquired by The Krannert Art Museum

The 2017 recipient of the Richard Hamilton Acquisition Prize is the The Krannert Art Museum – University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (KAM). The Krannert Art Museum is the second largest general fine arts museum in Illinois. The museum’s rich permanent collection contains more than 10,000 works of art dating from the fourth millennium BCE to the present, representing a broad range of cultures and varied modes of artistic expression.

Through the generosity of the Richard Hamilton Acquisition Prize, the Krannert Art Museum has acquired a print by Albrecht Dürer. Dürer’s Christ Carrying the Cross is part of the Engraved Passion set and dates from 1512, just a year before Dürer completed his so-called “Master Prints” in 1513-1514. Thus, it is considered a mature work by one of the most accomplished engravers of all times.

Celebrate Printmaking

Want to learn more about and get involved in the world of printmaking? IFPDA offers educational resources on printmaking for the public, including interviews with artists like William Kentridge and Julie Mehretu, and a comprehensive directory of member dealers and print publishers. The IFPDA Foundation also presents the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation Lecture each year at the IFPDA Fair to raise public consciousness about the unique ways in which contemporary artists use printmaking in their artistic practice, through conversations with artists like Leonardo Drew and Kiki Smith.

This post is part of a regular blog series highlighting sponsor organizations. Follow NYFA on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to see the latest news about each #NYFAPartner.

Images, from top: Maureen Warren, Krannert Curator of European and American Art, © Sari Goodfriend Photography; courtesy the Krannert Art Museum; Courtesy of C.G. Boerner