On Location: Drawing the Outdoors

A journey through drawings by groundbreaking 19th-century artists who left the studio to look outside for inspiration. Edited by Joachim Homann Publication date: September 2026 ISBN: 9780300292756 312 pages; 8.25 x 10.5 in. 160 images Hardcover Published by the Harvard Art Museums Distributed by Yale University Press Featuring over 150 drawings and watercolors by some of the 19th century’s most celebrated artists, On Location: Drawing the Outdoors investigates a monumental shift in artistic practice: the moment artists stepped outside the studio for inspiration and understanding. From Edouard Manet and William Blake to Paul Cézanne and Caspar David Friedrich, this publication includes works by artists spanning national and regional schools across Europe. Guiding readers on an artistic expedition, this publication charts ten trails or thematic pathways through the collection, replicating the thrill of outdoor exploration and encompassing the rich variety of nature’s subjects. By tracing patterns of artistic experience, the obstacles and opportunities encountered outside, and the materiality and techniques of 19th-century works, the book asks critical questions—what constitutes a landscape, and what does it mean to draw the outdoors rather than to draw while outdoors?—and invites readers to consider these works in the context of contemporary issues of environmentalism, the relationship between art and technology, and more. The related exhibition, On Location: Drawing the Outdoors, is on view at the Harvard Art Museums from September 18, 2026 through January 17, 2027. Joachim Homann is the Maida and George Abrams Curator of Drawings in the Division of European and American Art at the Harvard Art Museums. With contributions by Susanne Bartels, Meghan Grady, Joachim Homann, Penley Knipe, Kacper Kolęda, Sarah Rosenthal, Miriam Stewart, and Erik Zou. Funding for the On Location: Drawing the Outdoors exhibition and related programming was provided by the Stanley H. Durwood Foundation Support Fund, the Stanley H. Durwood Foundation Support Fund for the Study of Dutch Drawing, the Melvin R. Seiden and Janine Luke Fund for Publications and Exhibitions, and the M. Victor Leventritt Lecture Series Endowment Fund. The accompanying catalogue was made possible by the Andrew W. Mellon Publication Funds, including the Henry P. McIlhenny Fund. Additional project support was provided by the Almathea Charitable Foundation.