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The article presents information regarding Jean-Honoré Fragonard's 1774 drawings of a fisherman pulling a net and a fisherman leaning on an oar. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City acquired these red chalk drawings on cream antique laid paper in 2006 through the help of gifts from Walter and Leonore Annenberg and the Annenberg Foundation. In spite of their somewhat ragged clothing and bare feet, the fishermen are shown to be dashing figures with their billowy jackets, broad-brimmed hats and looped-over sashes.

The article presents information regarding a British portrait drawing of a lady by Joseph Wright "of Derby," circa 1768-1772. This drawing, which is made up of grisaille pastel on blue laid paper, was acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City in 2007 through the Rogers Fund. This particular drawing is part of a set of about a dozen head studies in chalks or pastels that Wright made during the decade before 1773. However, this drawing is not related to a known commission for a portrait, and the informality indicates that the model was intended to be seen as a character type.

The article presents information regarding a watercolor painting on white wove paper, entitled "Rising Road with Mount Tamalpais," by the American artists Percy Gray in 1910. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City acquired this art object in 2006 through the help of a gift from Donald C. Whitton, in memory of Robert Emory Johnson. This painting is among Gray's earlier works, which call to mind some of William Merritt Chase's Shinnecock landscapes, including the watercolor paintings of Barbizon-style artists.

The article presents information regarding a brush and ink drawing on paper on a nude subject by Henri Matisse between 1905-1906. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City acquired this art object in 2007 with the help of a gift from Joan and Lestern Avnet. This drawing was used by Matisse as a study for the central character in his popular painting, "Bonheur de vivre," which is now in the Barnes Foundation, Merion, Pennsylvania. It is observed that the body of the reclining nude woman has become an iconic image in modern art's history.

The article presents information on a Japanese ink on paper painting by Kano Tanyū of "The Sixth Patriarch of Zen at the Moment of Enlightenment" during the Edo period in 1635-1645. Tanyū, the shogun's official painter, executed the painting while Takuan Sōhō inscribed it. The painting depicts the historic instant in Zen legend when Huineng, the sixth patriarch, suddenly attained enlightenment while splitting a bamboo branch for firewood. It is observed that the painting demonstrates Tanyū's skill.