Favorite Watercolor Painters Past & Present

Fumee d'Ambre Gris (Smoke of Ambergris)
John Singer Sargent
watercolor
1880

Today I received an e-mail from artist blogger, Katherine Tyrrell of Making A Mark, who queried about one's favorite watercolor artists.

I enjoy reading her blogs on a daily basis, but this one caught my eye because I had never seen paintings by the favorite British contemporary watercolor painter, Trevor Chamberlain. As Katherine indicates, Trevor Chamberlain says so much with minimal effort. My favorite painting is Sunbeds and Parasols.

Of course, Winslow Homer and John Singer Sargent made the list of favorite watercolor artists of the past.

What a treat to visit the various websites and view watercolor paintings of all the artist Katherine listed as people's favorites.

Also the watercolor paintings of Kiff Holland caught my eye.

John Singer Sargent

Today my art therapy client and I review paintings by John singer Sargent.

John Singer Sargent (January 12, 1856 – April 14, 1925) was an American painter, and a leading portrait painter of his era. During his career, he created roughly 900 oil paintings and more than 2,000 watercolors, as well as countless sketches and charcoal drawings.

What I noticed particularly at this time viewing his paintings, was his dramatic use of dark.....very dark.......and light.

Madame X (Madame Pierre Gautreau), 1883–84
John Singer Sargent
Oil on canvas
In 1882, John Singer Sargent wrote of wanting to paint Madame Pierre Gautreau's portrait. He worked on the portrait at the Gautreau's summer home in Brittany in 1883, but he had difficulty finding a suitable pose and perspective. Numerous studies show his different attempts at the composition. The portrait as finally executed was exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1884 as "Portrait de Mme ***" and created a scandal. Sargent considered it one of his best works; an unfinished second version of the same pose is in the Tate Gallery in London.

Part 4: Early American Watercolor Artists

American artists worked in the shadow of European masters until the late nineteenth century.

Gradually, skilled and talented artists like Thomas Eakins (1844-1916), Winslow Homer (1836-1910) and James A. M. Whistler (1834-1903) began to develop artworks which challenged European artists. The rise of American watercolor coincides with international rise and recognition of American painting.

American artists embraced watercolor as a primary medium equal to oil painting. This was not common in nineteenth century Europe except in England. Both American and English artists utilized watercolor for important paintings. By 1866, the interest in the medium was so pronounced that the American Society of Painters in Water Color was founded and for the first time watercolors were shown in galleries among oil paintings.

Although Americans inherited a technique developed by the British, they were more interested in experimenting with watercolor in their own way. American artists, therefore, created works which were uniquely individual in comparison. They were free of rigid English traditions and the slow evolution of the British school. In this way the American school was able to explode with an abundance of important figures between the 1870's and the revolutionary Armory Show in New York in 1913 which included John Singer Sargent (1856-1925), John Marin (1870-1953) and Maurice Prendergast (1859-1924).

Each artist represented an individual and unique approach to the medium. Since there was no particular American school or style of watercolor, the entire group represented "individualism" as a key factor in American art.


Miss Eden
John Singer Sargent
Watercolor on paper
1905


John Marin
Marin Island
Watercolor on paper
1914


Bridge and Steps, Venice
Maurice Prendergast
Watercolor on paper
1911-1912