Pressing Matters: 500 Years of Wine in Art from the Sterling Vineyards Print Portfolio

Since ancient times, wine has played an important role in people's lives. Particularly in Europe and the Americas, it has been a part of religious ceremonies, public celebrations, entertainment, and family meals and gatherings. It is therefore only natural that artists, reflecting the life and customs of the times in which they lived, would incorporate images of wine, winemaking and grapes into their work. Pressing Matters shows the many ways in which artists have used wine as subject matter. Selected from the extensive collection of the Sterling Vineyards Portfolio of Wine Art and History, the exhibition presents examples of the printmaker's craft as well as a cultural appreciation of wine through centuries of art. The 50 prints on view include work by 15th and 16th century European masters such as Hans Baldung, Jos² e Ribera, and Lucas van Leyden, as well as by later artists such as Honor²†aumier, Marc Chagall, and Pablo Picasso. The works are executed in a variety of printmaking techniques, including steel engraving, woodcut, etching, and lithography.