American Watercolor: New Exhibition Investigates its Rise

Big Springs in Yellowstone Park, Watercolor painting on paper, is one of the American watercolor paintings on display at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

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American Watercolor in the Age of Homer and Sargent, at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, traces the history of watercolor in America

Video/Philadelphia Museum of Art

American Watercolor Artists

PHILADELPHIA- How did Watercolor become a major art medium in America? American Watercolor in the Age of Homer and Sargent exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art attempts to answer this question. Featuring rarely seen works by famous artists like Winslow Homer and John Singer Sargent, the show traces the growth of the medium through stunning landscapes, illustrations, designs for ceramics, and stained glass. Furthermore, it also reveals how the American Watercolor Society formed in 1866, changed the mind of artists, who considered the medium as something for amateurs, women, and commercial artists.

This is the most comprehensive exhibition focused on the most important chapter in the history of watercolor in America. More than 170 paintings drawn will be in the show. From museums and private collections, the paintings bring context to this important exhibition. Several of the masterpieces have rarely been seen in public. At the core of the exhibition are two of the most influential practitioners of the medium: Winslow Homer (1836-1910) and John Sargent (1856-1925).

Works by other artists who embraced the medium are also in this show. They include John La Farge, Thomas Moran, William Trost Richards, Thomas Eakins, and George Inness. Many of the paintings show innovation, experimentation, and bold new ways of seeing the world.

The exhibition runs from March 1, 2017 – May 14, 2017, at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2600 Benjamin Franklin Pkwy, Philadelphia, PA 19130.