Renowned for the emotional power of his figurative drawings, William Beckman is one of America's leading realist artists. This is the first major retrospective of his drawings, featuring works from both private and public collections, including the artist's own, as well as a fascinating interview with the artist, and an essay by poet and critic Carter Ratcliff. Public collections with Beckman's work include: The Art Institute of Chicago, IL Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA The Columbus Museum, Columbus, GA Des Moines Art Center, IA Flint Institute of Arts, MI Frye Art Museum, Seattle, WA Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC Huntington Museum of Art, Huntington, WV Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, New York, NY Milwaukee Art Museum, WI Museum Moderne Kunst, Vienna, Austria - former collection of Peter Ludwig National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC New Britain Museum of American Art, CT Pasadena Art Museum, CA Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA Seven Bridges Foundation, CT Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, MA Springfield Art Museum, MO University of Iowa, IA University of North Carolina, NC Weatherspoon Art Gallery, Greensboro, NC Whitney Museum of American Art, NY Yale University Art Gallery, CT