Opening Jan 22, “Andy Warhol: By Hand, Drawings from the 1950s – 1980s” will showcase more than 150 hand drawings the artist created between 1948 and 1985, gathered from three private collections, including one — belonging to the dealer Daniel Blau — whose works will be showing in the US for the first time.

Warhol developed his drawing practice as a student and kept it up for decades. In the exhibition, these works will be presented not chronologically but thematically, with children, nudes and portraits (including self-portraits) among the themes. The works will also reflect some of the themes seen frequently in the artist’s work, such as American iconography and the mystique of celebrity.

The New York Academy of Art is well-placed to present this selection of the artist’s work: the Academy was developed in the 1980s by a group of artists and art patrons that included Warhol, with the intention of fostering skills training in drawing, painting and sculpture. According to the Academy, Warhol — the product of classical art education — believed strongly in the necessity of foundational training, making his drawings an especially rich area for getting to know the artist’s work.

“It is important for people to know the vital role drawing played in Andy Warhol’s life as an artist. By focusing only on Andy’s drawings, this exhibition is a way to highlight without distraction Andy’s innovative process and experimentation which encompassed pen and ink, ballpoint pen, blotted line, graphite, and acrylic paint,” said curator Vincent Fremont.

“Andy Warhol: By Hand, Drawings from the 1950s – 1980s” runs from Jan 22 to March 10.