Watercolor History in America

A great article on Watercolor (Must Read)

Watercolor has a fascinating history of American 19th Century Artists such as John Singer Sargent, Thomas Moran, William Trost Richards, John William Hill, and John La Farge as well as modern artists Andrew Wyeth and Milton Avery.

During the second half of the 19th century, watercolor painting developed into a significant force in American art.  By the turn of the century, the popularity of watercolor, as well as its boldness, directness and cheerfulness, led many critics to proclaim watercolor the "American Medium."  Working in a wide range of styles and motifs, amateur and professional artists produced watercolors of technical brilliance and captivating beauty that pushed the boundaries of the medium and positioned watercolor at the leading edge of American art.

The arrival of watercolor as a major genre in American art can be traced to the founding of the American Society of Painters in Water Colors in 1866. Watercolor had long been popular in the United States, but it was largely considered a medium best suited to amateur artists or specialists. such as naturalists and miniature painters.  The Society's first exhibition in 1867 drastically altered this trajectory, and America's leading artists increasingly viewed watercolor as a serious creative and commercial pursuit.

Watercolor continued to attract the attention of the country's most well-known artists through the end of the 19th century. Current museum exhibitions follow the history of watercolor into the 20th century when it became an important medium for artists at he forefront of American modernism and played an important role in the development of abstraction and other modern stylistic developments.

Beyond tracing the historical development of watercolor in the United States modern exhibitions explore the variation in techniques and different approaches taken by forward-thinking American artists.  Today's Watercolor paintings reveal that the American watercolor movement was defined by experimentation as artists continually pursued innovative methods and effects.

Studying watercolor paintings will give a deeper understanding of watercolor's place in the history of American art and an appreciation for the versatility, exuberance and delightfulness of the watercolor medium.

Hampton Roads Weekly