Jules Heller Print Study Room

Images from our print collection

The Print Collection at ASU Art Museum has a broad historic scope ranging from an early Bible page to contemporary work, through the Renaissance, post-Impressionism, American Regionalism, Pop Art and contemporary examples.

One of the focus areas of the collection are prints reflecting social and political issues, some of which are works by William Hogarth, Honoré Daumier, Francisco Goya, José Guadalupe Posada, Leopoldo Mendéz and Francesc Torres; approximately 50 prints and works on paper by contemporary Cuban artists; and 123 lithographs and intaglios by Sue Coe. The artists use the print medium to satirize society, criticize governments and raise the social and political awareness of the viewer.

These prints do not sit idle in storage. The collection of more than 4,000 prints is held in the Jules Heller Print Study Room. It provides a secure environment for care and storage while also being an accessible resource for students, scholars, and general visitors.

Prints are available for viewing by appointment. It is a rare opportunity to view a print without a frame’s glass. The subtleties of the paper and ink, the artist’s hand – these cannot be captured or experienced through a slide presentation or from research in a book.

Viewing the raw material is an educational experience that brings reality to study and research.

The Print Collection Manager is available to explain the tools and print making processes to students, professors and scholars. The Print Study Room had more than 700 student visitors in the academic year 2003-2004.

The Print Collection is also used in exhibitions, whether single prints in larger shows or entire exhibitions organized from the holdings. Heel of the Boot: Prints by Sue Coe was drawn entirely from the Print Collection, and toured the United States for three years. Codex Mendéz: Prints by Leopoldo Mendéz, also a collection exhibition with additional prints from a local collector, toured the Arizona Commission on the Arts.

Traveling exhibitions give visibility to the ASU Art Museum’s collection in other areas of the state and nation, generating a new audience. Programs developed around an exhibition, such as lectures and demonstrations, further the educational experience.

The museum has a strong base on which to build its print holdings and programs. We will continue collecting work of significant aesthetic, historic and social and political importance, organizing exhibitions to raise artistic awareness and social consciousness, and offering lectures by artists and scholars related to prints and their social impact.

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