The Stage of Drawing presents remarkable works on paper selected by the artist Avis Newman from the prestigious collection of Tate, London. Including both well-known and less familiar drawings from the mid-1700s to the 1970s by British and international artists, this book, and its accompanying exhibition, offers the opportunity to view developments in drawing over the past three centuries. The subjects addressed by the book range from literary and theatrical influences on such artists as Sir Joshua Reynolds, William Blake, and Henry Fuseli, to the gestural act in 20th-century drawing as seen in the work of Natalya Goncharova, Francis Bacon, Lucio Fontana, Cy Twombly, Blinky Palermo and Andy Warhol. This book presents a unique view of drawing and its place in the history of art.