Albrecht Dürer’s monumental "Triumphal Arch," a 13-foot-tall woodcut commissioned by Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I in 1512, is entering long-term storage at the New York Public Library this fall. The work has been a centerpiece of the library’s Polonsky Treasures exhibition since 2021, but its extreme fragility and age necessitate its removal from public view on October 18.
This transition marks a rare closing window to view one of the largest and most complex prints ever produced, a masterpiece of imperial propaganda that utilized an entire studio of carvers and advisors. Because the work requires specialized conservation and protection from light damage, it has spent the majority of the last century in vaults, making this current display a significant event for scholars and the public alike before it returns to an indefinite period of restricted access.