Milan, 13 October 2009 - On the occasion of the largest exhibition in Italy dedicated to the work of American artist Edward Hopper (14 October 2009 - 31 January 2010, Palazzo Reale, Milan), LYRA by FILA is providing visitors to the exhibition with free LYRA Art Design pencils: extremely fine, hexagonal graphite pencils with extra-resistant leads, ideal for artistic and professional use.

LYRA, a German brand acquired by FILA - Fabbrica Italiana Lapis e Affini in 2008, has been producing superior quality drawing implements since 1806. The excellence of LYRA pencils is recognised by design experts, professionals, and also those using pencils for pleasure and amusement, as a communicative and creative tool, not least for children.

And it is children and young people (aged from 5 to 14 years) who will be able to use LYRA Art Design pencils for an original educational programme designed especially for them within the Edward Hopper exhibition. All young visitors wishing to follow the stages of Hopper's artistic development will receive a fine notepad which is a scale replica of that used by the painter in real life, inside which they will find a LYRA Art Design pencil and all the instructions needed to enter his world and learn to draw like him.

In addition to illustrating Hopper's preferred techniques - oil, watercolour and engraving - the exhibition will also place emphasis on the binding relationship between the works and their preparatory sketches - also on display - that the artist drafted in pencil, in the notepad that he took everywhere with him. And it is on this theme that the educational programme concentrates.

Children visiting the exhibition will be able to follow a few short stories in the notepad which illustrate Hopper's childhood and show some of his paintings produced at various ages and, throughout the various sections of the exhibitions, they will be able to note down their own impressions, make sketches and do creative exercises to spark their creativity. Along the route, they will have at their disposal a special LYRA Art Design 6B pencil- soft and smooth, ideal for producing drawings and sketches in the notepad.

In addition to this, at the end of this creative journey, in a relaxation area, the "young artists" will also be able to copy and trace the works that have fascinated and struck them the most and, like young apprentices in a historic master's workshop, each in their own individual way, they can recreate the famous mark of an artist today considered to be a great classic of twentieth century painting. At their disposal is all the experience and high quality of a LYRA pencil, perfect for creative people, professional or otherwise.