Paper is considered one of the most important inventions ever, helping to document and preserve information for thousands of years. The first creation of paper was documented in China during the Eastern Han period (25-220CE). It was made from pulp in paper mills similar to the process of how paper is made today. From its early creation, paper quickly became used as an artistic medium.

Work on paper is a broad phrase that indicates any artwork that uses paper as its main substrate. The term refers to all artworks that are created on paper as a medium, whether the paper is drawn on with pastels, pencils, ink, or charcoal. Works on paper also include prints and collages. The GVSU Art Museum collection is home to a wide range of works of art on paper, many of which are part of the general collection and are installed throughout our GVSU campus buildings. Additionally, over 3,000 works of art on paper are housed in our Print and Drawing Cabinet, a special sub-collection of artwork begun in 2001 with a donation from English-born, Dutch artist Cyril Lixenberg. This first gift included every print produced by Lixenberg over the course of his 40-year career.

The GVSU collection of drawings includes a number of different media, including graphite, pastel, charcoal, and ink, as well as a number of different forms of illustrations, like digital prints and collage.

Explore illustrations and drawings in the collection

The GVSU collection of prints includes a number of different printmaking techniques, including linocut, woodcut, aquatint, engraving, etching, lithographs, and monotypes. The Print and Drawing Cabinet also holds a collection of remarkable prints and drawings from several different collections.

Explore printmaking in the collection