Bard Graduate Center is devoted to the study of decorative arts, design history, and material culture through research, advanced degrees, exhibitions, publications, and events.
Description
Viollet-le-Duc Drawing Worlds is the first major U.S. exhibition dedicated to the life and work of visionary architect, designer, and theorist Eugène-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc (1814–1879). Bringing together nearly 150 drawings and objects, the majority of which have never before been on view in the U.S., the exhibition highlights Viollet-le-Duc’s prolific work as a draftsman and the centrality of drawing to his practice.
A transformative figure in the history of modern architecture, today he is best known for his restoration of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris. Viollet-le-Duc endeavored to restore not only the buildings but also the spirit and vitality of an idealized Middle Ages, which meant that he never felt confined to merely reproduce what once stood. The exhibition—which includes stunning sketches from the architect’s travels to Italy and through the Alps—reveals how his art was inextricably intertwined with his social and political beliefs rooted in a strong sense of national and ethnic identity. Offering a chronological path through Viollet-le-Duc’s career, the exhibition examines his body of work from early drawings imagining bygone worlds in their golden age; to his mid-career restoration campaigns that defined the modern experience of Gothic France; and to his late drawings that blur the lines between geology and architecture.
January 28, 2025 - May 24, 2025
18 West 86th Street
For admission tickets and gallery information, click here.
For groups of 10 visitors or more we require scheduling a private tour.
Viollet-le-Duc Drawing Worlds is organized by Bard Graduate Center in partnership with the Médiathèque du patrimoine et de la photographie, a department of the French Ministry of Culture.
Curated by Barry Bergdoll, Meyer Schapiro Professor of Art History in the Department of Art History and Archaeology at Columbia University; and Martin Bressani, William MacDonald Professor at the Peter guo-hua Fu School of Architecture at McGill University; with project coordination by Emma Cormack, BGC Associate Curator.
Support for Viollet le Duc Drawing Worlds is generously provided by the Achelis and Bodman Foundation, the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, the Tavolozza Foundation with additional support by Furthermore: a program of the J. M. Kaplan Fund, Camilla Dietz Bergeron, Ltd., the Fondation Napoléon, and other donors to Bard Graduate Center.
Banner Image: Eugène-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc (French, 1814–1879), view of the antique theatre at Taormina, restoration project, 1840. Pencil, watercolor and gouache on paper. Médiathèque du patrimoine et de la photographie, Charenton-le-Pont, F/1996/83/HF-4715.
Date & Time
Jan 28 - May 24, 2026
Venue Details
BARD GRADUATE CENTER GALLERY
18 West 86th StreetNew York, New York 10024
