The fascinating story of the transformation of American watercolor practice between 1866 and 1925

The formation of the American Watercolor Society in 1866 by a small, dedicated group of painters transformed the perception of what had long been considered a marginal medium. Artists of all ages, styles, and backgrounds took up watercolor in the 1870s, inspiring younger generations of impressionists and modernists. By the 1920s many would claim it as “the American medium.”
 
This engaging and comprehensive book tells the definitive story of the metamorphosis of American watercolor practice between 1866 and 1925, identifying the artist constituencies and social forces that drove the new popularity of the medium. The major artists of the movement – Winslow Homer, John Singer Sargent, William Trost Richards, Thomas Moran, Thomas Eakins, Charles Prendergast, Childe Hassam, Edward Hopper, Charles Demuth, and many others – are represented with lavish color illustrations. The result is a fresh and beautiful look at watercolor’s central place in American art and culture.

Kathleen A. Foster is Robert L. McNeil, Jr., Senior Curator of American Art and the director of the Center for American Art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.