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Defining the word drawing is difficult, and defining it to encompass the entire scope of the discipline would be a monumental endeavor. It is drawing’s ability to adapt to any circumstance that has kept it vital through millennia. By Any Means: Works from the National Drawing Invitationals demonstrates that contemporary drawing maintains its vitality through continuous reinvention of the form.

For 25 years, the Norman R. Eppink Art Gallery at Emporia State University in Emporia, Kansas, celebrated the art of drawing in its Annual National Invitational Drawing Exhibition. Inaugurated in 1977, each exhibition brought together exceptional drawings by both established and emerging artists from across the United States. The only unifying element—and the Annual’s greatest strength—was the selection of high-caliber artists committed to the rigorous discipline of drawing.

No effort was made to limit the exhibitions to a particular movement in art, and the term drawing was never defined. As a result, each Annual was noted for a wide-ranging display of media, techniques, and concepts.

The Eppink Gallery purchased some of the most outstanding works on paper from each year’s Annual, both from well-established artists and those just beginning to gain recognition. By Any Means consists of 30 representative drawings from this exceptional collection, including works by Donald Roller Wilson, Janis Mars Wunderlich, Robert Stackhouse, Phillip Pearlstein, and Harvey Breverman.

By Any Means is curated by Donald D. Perry, professor of art and an authority on drawing; the exhibition represents a rare opportunity to view these hidden gems.