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Four of the 20th century’s greatest artists – Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí and Andy Warhol – were also accomplished printmakers.

Together, these four artists spanned a 75-year period that saw the birth of the modern age. They employed a wide range of techniques, and their work represents one of the most creative and diverse periods of printmaking in the history of western art. Drawn from the V&A’s outstanding collections of prints, posters and artists’ books, 'Modern Masters' showcases their work in print.

The exhibition will highlight the different ways in which each of these four artists used the print. For Matisse and Picasso, printmaking was one of the many artistic media they employed, and one which they used to explore themes and motifs from other areas of their work. For Dalí, printmaking was an exercise in experimentation, through which he developed many imaginative new processes. Warhol’s prints were his primary means of expression and central to his body of work. His screen-prints based on mass-produced images challenged the concept of the ‘original’ print.

The exhibition includes celebrated prints such as Matisse’s sensual Odalisque lithographs, Picasso’s vivacious illustrations to Buffon’s Histoire Naturelle and Warhol’s Pop Art Marilyn alongside less wellknown but equally significant examples of their printmaking. By focusing on this more intimate aspect of their careers, the exhibition reveals the extent to which each of these artists found inspiration in print as a medium for experiment and original expression.