Artists have long been intrigued by the night—a time of lonely wanderings, surreal visions, and dramatic encounters. This exhibition brings together a selection of prints by European and American artists who explore the evocative possibilities of the nocturne. With its richly inked surfaces, printmaking is an ideal medium for rendering the mysterious and subtle tones found in night scenes.

This exhibition includes exquisite prints by Richard Earlom, Hendrick Goudt, Edward Hopper, Max Klinger, Martin Lewis, John Martin, Samuel Palmer, and Rembrandt van Rijn. Their works range in poetic mood from the sublime drama of Martin's visionary interpretation of Milton's Paradise Lost to the uncanny quietude in Hopper's depiction of a solitary figure on a New York street corner.

In nocturnal scenes, illumination comes from discreet sources such as candlelight or moonlight, and subjects are seen in shadow and silhouette. The Nocturne in Printmaking shows the different intaglio processes that artists adopted in the challenge to render dark tonalities—etching, engraving, mezzotint, aquatint, and drypoint. These images, often created from several overlapping techniques, reveal dense webs of line and velvety areas of tone that are imbued with nuance, texture, and atmospheric depth.

The printmakers whose works are on view were inspired to illustrate nocturnal episodes by mythology, religious narrative, and poetry. Yet, there are also instances where they have chosen scenes of ordinary life. American printmaker Martin Lewis utilized distortions of shadow for aesthetic and emotional impact. One of his best known images, Ha’nted, shows two men walking along a country road on a clear winter night with a kerosene lamp. The title refers to the "haunting" effect of the shadow cast by the lamp. Magnified on the side of the rustic building, it looms menacingly over the men.

The Nocturne in Printmaking is curated by Eric Lutz and will be on view in Gallery 321 through March 8, 2009.