American and European

Among the most notable prints in Hill-Stead’s collection are three engravings by Albrecht Dürer, including Melencolia I, 1514. The museum also exhibits 17 copper plate etchings and lithographs by James McNeill Whistler, whose mastery of etching was instrumental in reviving the popularity of the medium in England, France and America. Prints by Whistler include selections from his French Set, 1858 – 1859, Thames Set, 1859, and his first and second Venice Sets, 1878 – 1880. Many of the landscape prints by Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Charles Meryon, Jean-François Millet and Seymour Haden depict places that the Popes visited. The family also amassed a collection of mezzotint portraits of English statesmen, artist, authors and philosophers. Theodate Pope Riddle collected prints of English buildings, which served as inspiration for her architectural projects.