Organised by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (FCG) and by the Gravura - Sociedade Cooperativa de Gravadores Portugueses [the Cooperative Society of Portuguese Printmakers], the main purpose of this exhibition was to raise the French public awareness of this artistic society and its activity, as well as highlighting what was referred in the catalogue as “one of the richest aspects of the renewal of modern art in Portugal” (Gravure Portugaise Contemporaine, 1969).

In this exhibition, the old masters (Almada Negreiros, Jorge Barradas, Carlos Botelho) were put side by side with the “artistic and graphical message of the new generation”, represented by João Hogan, Bartolomeu Cid, João Abel Manta, among others (Gravure Portugaise Contemporaine, 1969).

This exhibition counted with the important support of the painter Paulo Ferreira, responsible for the catalogue and for the exhibition design, who “has once more given proof of his artistic mastery and of all the passion he invests in the spreading of Portuguese art beyond our borders”, according to the director of the Calouste Gulbenkian Paris Branch, the Centre Culturel Portugais, Joaquim Veríssimo Serrão (ibid.).

The Gravura - Sociedade Cooperativa de Gravadores Portugueses started its activity in October, 1956, and was created by a group of artists and art lovers that aimed to resurrect engraving in Portugal and raise the interest of collectors in artworks made using this technique. The FCG was for a long time an important partner of this society, subsidising exhibitions, courses, conferences, symposia and the acquisition of equipment for the workshops.