(l-r) Artworks by Graham Sutherland, Pierre Auguste Renoir and poster by John Hassall
The Watercolours + Works on Paper Fair returns to London's Science Museum (2-5 February - pop it in the diary) for its annual celebration and sale of art on paper and this year it's also accompanied by a loan exhibition of beautiful lunar drawings.
The exhibition entitled The Moon Observed takes inspiration from drawings of the Moon's surface by engineer, astronomer and artist James Nasmyth (1808-1890'). Work by Nasmyth will sit alongside pieces by other artists who share his fascination with our nearest celestial neighbour. The loan exhibition promises to be a mixture of straight observational studies and, what the fair is terming "imaginative lines of enquiry".
© Science Museum / Science & Society Picture Library
Sadly the exhibition works are not for sale but that doesn't mean you can't take home some gems of your own - everything else at the fair is available to buy. Big name pieces include a soft-ground etching by Pierre Auguste Renoir (La Dance a la Campagne - £10,000), a lithograph by Odilon Redon (Lueur Recaire, une Tete a l'Infini suspendu - £1,750) and a watercolour and ink drawing by Graham Sutherland (Tree at Picton - £7,800) but, unless you're being inconvenienced by a particularly heavy wallet and a love of one of those artists, we're big fans of the 'have a good old root around and pick up something you love' strategy!
Take a peek at some of the art you can find at the fair in the gallery below:
The Watercolours +Works on Paper Fair, 2-5 Feb, Science Museum