WELLESLEY, MASS.- Better on Paper is a new exhibition that spotlights and celebrates some of the thousands of newly acquired and previously unseen works of art on paper, including prints, drawings, photographs, books, and other objects, acquired by the Davis Museum and the Wellesley College Library Special Collections over the last decade.


Motonori Taki, Kōkei Saikyūhō [Emergency Remedies for the Benefit of People], Kyōto: Izumoji Bunjirō; Edo: Hanabusa Daisuke han, ca. 1790, Paper, Purchased with Library Funds, Wellesley College Special Collections.


The exhibition emphasizes contemporary art, while also showcasing many new acquisitions of art from past centuries. More than 100 recent gifts and purchases will be on view in Better on Paper from February 7 to June 1, 2025, along with two other new exhibitions at the Davis Museum all highlighting new acquisitions.


Romano Hänni, It is Bitter to Leave Your Home: A True Story Depicted in Typographic Images, Basel: Romano Hänni, Studio for Design, 2017, Paper towels, Purchased with Library Funds, Wellesley College Special Collections, Courtesy of the artist.


“Better on Paper presents a stunning array of visionary works of art from Wellesley’s collections in this collaboration between the College Library’s Special Collections and the Davis,” said Amanda Gilvin, the exhibition’s Co-Curator, and Interim Co-Director, Sonja Novak Koerner '51 Senior Curator of Collections, and Associate Director of Curatorial Affairs.


Chitra Ganesh, Architects of the Future, City Inside Her, 2014, Woodblock and screenprint with gold leaf in four (4) parts, Museum purchase, The Nancy Gray Sherrill, Class of 1954, Collection Acquisition Fund 2014.180, Courtesy of the artist and Hales, London and New York.


The exhibition calls attention to Wellesley’s decades-long leadership in the field of the study of photography, Gilvin said. She notes works that will be on view and are now part of the Davis collection include Nigerian artist Taiye Idahor’s Ekundayo; prominent African American photographer in the 1970s and 1980s Ming Smith’s Self Portrait, Harlem, NY; work by locally-based multimedia artist Jo Sandman; Chitra Ganesh’s Architects of the Future, City Inside Her; and Magdelena van de Passe after Crispijn de Passe the Elder’s Spring. Special Collections will present 18th century publisher John Pike’s satirical fan The Land of Matrimony [and] Land of Celibacy and Swiss graphic designer Romano Hänni’s artist book It is Bitter to Leave Your Home: A True Story Depicted in Typographic Images.


Magdalena van de Passe after Crispijn de Passe the Elder, Spring, from "The Four Seasons," 17th century, Engraving, Museum purchase, The Dorothy Johnston Towne (Class of 1923) Fund 2016.132.


The Davis and the Wellesley College Library Special Collections have joined together to mount Better on Paper to pay homage to these new acquisitions that represent Wellesley’s commitment to inclusive excellence. Often collaborating with Wellesley faculty, staff, and students, curators have acquired the objects in the exhibition to support and expand the Wellesley College curriculum. The prints, drawings, photographs, books, and other objects in Better on Paper originate from around the globe, spanning diverse makers and approaches, and dating to many periods.


Taiye Idahor, Ekundayo, 2018, Photo paper collage, ink, and color pencil on paper, Museum purchase, Marjorie Schechter Bronfman '38 and Gerald Bronfman Endowment for Works on Paper 2019.948, Courtesy of the artist.


“It is a tremendous opportunity for the College Library’s Special Collections to be off the shelves and on view to a wider audience,” said Ruth R. Rogers, Curator of Special Collections and Visiting Lecturer, Art Department. “Better on Paper allows us to share a selection from the range of international, rare books, contemporary artists’ books, and other evidence of material communication that are the basis of teaching and research on campus.


Ming Smith, Self Portrait, Harlem, NY, ca. 1973, Gelatin silver print, Museum purchase, The Dorothy Johnston Towne (Class of 1923) Fund 2017.37, Courtesy of the artist and Jenkins Johnson Gallery.


Building these collections supports today’s Wellesley Method: object-based and human-centered learning across disciplines. “We invite you to study, learn, and teach in this exhibition–and to find out more about the many other works on paper in the Davis Museum and Special Collections,” Gilvin said.

This exhibition was co-curated by Gilvin and Rogers with contributions from Nicole Berlin, Associate Curator of Collections, Alicia Bruce, Friends of Art Curatorial Project Manager and Researcher, Yuhua Ding, Kemper Assistant Curator of Collections and Academic Affairs, L. Goins ‘26, 2024 Summer Curatorial Intern, James Oles, Adjunct Curator of Latin American Art and Senior Lecturer, Art Department, Mariana S. Oller, Associate Curator of Special Collections, and Semente, Curator of Education and Public Programs.

Better on Paper is presented at the Davis with generous support from the Anonymous '70 Endowed Museum Program Fund, Marjorie Schechter Bronfman '38 and Gerald Bronfman Endowment for Works on Paper, and Wellesley College Friends of Art at the Davis.