Fall brings Paper Dreams: Alfred Maurer and American Masterpieces to the Wichita Art Museum with two beautifully paired exhibitions. Alfred Maurer: American Modern Works on Paper from the Weisman Art Museum Collection and Essence of Line: American Modern Works on Paper from the Wichita Art Museum Collection combine the riches of two nationally prominent American art collections—Minneapolis and Wichita.

Beginning in the early 20th century, American artists turned away from centuries-old subjects and styles, yearning to reflect their own time and unique experiences in a rapidly changing world. Renegades who championed self-expression, they ignored the rules and crafted their own freshly original art. Those modern masters expressed themselves with greatest immediacy in works on paper, including drawings, pastels, watercolors, and prints.

One gallery will feature work by Alfred Maurer (1868–1932), all from the collection of the Weisman Art Museum, University of Minnesota. From the artist’s early success with academic classicism to daring Matisse-inspired fauvism to languid modernist muses, the exhibition presents the artistic development of one of America’s leading avant-garde artists in the early 20th century.

In the neighboring gallery, American modernist gems from the Wichita Art Museum will be proudly displayed. This world-class grouping includes incredible moderns such as Charles Burchfield, Charles Demuth, Arthur Dove, Edward Hopper, John Marin, Maurice Prendergast, Charles Sheeler, Everett Shinn, and many more.

The combination of exhibitions will be a rare treat for Wichita and Kansas audiences—works on paper are particularly sensitive to light damage and restrictions limit the time these artworks can be displayed.

Image: Edward Hopper, Adam’s House, 1928. Watercolor and charcoal on paper, 16 x 25 inches. Wichita Art Museum, Roland P. Murdock Collection