The fragile prints in Palmer's new exhibit Recent Acquisitions have never been displayed before in the gallery and won't be again for some time.

Recent Acquisitions will be on display on the second floor of the Palmer Museum of Art through May 17. The exhibition focuses on prints, ranging from the 16th to the 20th century, that have not been previously shown at Palmer, Curator Patrick McGrady said.

McGrady said the exhibit had to be shown for a limited time because the prints are all on delicate paper, which can be seriously damaged by prolonged exposure to light. The prints need a lot of rest between exhibits so that damage from short-term light exposure does not become permanent, he said.

"The impetus behind the exhibit is to show artwork folks don't really get to see," he said. "These prints have to be put away for most of their life."

Etchings, engravings, lithograph, linocut, drypoint and fabric relief are all represented in the exhibit, he said.

"It covers a wide range of material, including a variety of artists, periods and mediums," he said.

McGrady said one of the highlights of the exhibit is the Giovanni Battista Piranesi etching "View of the Pyramid Gaius Cestius," a print that dates back to the 18th century.

"It is a rare first state, a print made before any changes were made to the plate," he said. "It provides a very fresh image."

Another notable print is an 1840 lithograph by French artist Honoré Daumier titled "Ungrateful Country, You Shall Not Have My Work!," McGrady said. He said the lithograph depicts an artist destroying his studio, along with the words "refusé" as a response to "The Paris Salon," a juried art exhibit in Paris from which Daumier was rejected.

"In 1840 in Paris, there were no galleries, no buyers," McGrady said. "The Salon was the biggest event of the year for cultural Paris."

James Mullen, Class of 1957, is also featured in the exhibit, McGrady said. Mullen, who recently retired as the dean of Humanities and Fine Arts at State University of New York College at Oneonta, donated "Andalusian Still Life," a linocut and fabric relief, as well several pieces from other artists, McGrady said.

Other artists featured in the exhibit include Ivan Albright, Thomas Moran, Jan Sadeler and Minna Citron.

Jim Vincent (graduate-accounting) said he often comes to Palmer as a way to relax and see what's new. He said he loved Recent Acquisitions.

"I really liked the Ivan Albright," he said. "I like the boldness, compressing a lot into a small amount of space."

McGrady said the goal of Palmer is to protect the prints, as well as other artworks, so they can potentially last forever.

"The reason the museum is in existence is to hold these treasures in the public trust -- to keep them safe and protect them," he said.