Watercolor Artists
Childe Hassam (American, 1859-1935)
"Isles of Shoals Garden - Appledore, New Hampshire"
(ca. 1895)
Compare and Contrast
“Schooner in Dock”
Frank Wilcox
(American, 1887-1964)
"Fishing Boats on the beach”
Vincent Van Gogh
(Dutch, 1853-1890)
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Frank Wilcox (American, 1887-1964)
Frank Wilcox was a native of Cleveland, Ohio who
became a prominent American Scene watercolorist.
In 1906 he enrolled in the Cleveland School of Art and
later studied with Henry Keller exploring his artistic
boundaries.
Between 1910 and 1916, Wilcox and Keller
experimented with plein air painting and the techniques
of the Impressionists.
Wilcox developed his signature style which was
American Scene or regionalist genre in a transparent
watercolor technique. Using fluid and sometimes
calligraphic washes Frank Wilcox chronicled the historic
lives of the people and scenery of Northern Ohio.
Vincent Van Gogh (Dutch, 1853-1890)
Vincent Van Gogh was an artist whose work is one of
the formative influences of 20th-century art and
whose life of suffering has become legendary.
The son of a Dutch parson, he was employed by a firm
of art dealers in The Hague, London and Paris.
Afterwards he became in turn a schoolmaster in
Britain, a missionary to the miners in the Borinage,
Belgium, and finally, in 1880, an artist.
In 1886 he left Holland for Paris, where he lived with
his brother Theo, one of the few art dealers
encouraging such artists as Bernard, Degas, Gauguin,
Seurat and Toulouse-Lautrec.
Impressed by the work and personalities of these
progressive painters, Van Gogh conceived the idea of
founding a 'Studio of the South' at Arles as a working
community for progressive artists.
He himself went to Arles early in 1888, but the only
other painter he persuaded to join him was Gauguin,
who visited him at the end of 1888.
Vincent van Gogh suffered from harrowing bouts of
depression and self-doubt throughout his lifetime. On
July 27, 1890 Vincent Van Gogh shot himself. He died
two days later. He last words were "the sadness will
last forever."
Compare and Contrast
"The White House, Chelsea" (1800)
“Untitled”
Thomas Girtin (English, 1775-1802)
J.M.W. Turner (English, 1775-1851)
"Thomas Girtin together with his friend J. M. W. Turner,
revolutionized watercolor painting and introduced the
romantic style in English landscape painting. (Like Keats
and Shelley, he died young.) Color in broad transparent
washes together with precise, exquisite drawing (one can
scarcely tell where drawing in pencil ends and drawing
with the brush begins) make Girtin one of the greatest
masters of watercolor painting."
Although Joseph Mallord William Turner learned much
about light, atmosphere, and water reflections from
the likes of Claude Lorrain and other Dutch marine
painters, he pushed the envelope by expanding and
aggrandizing the role of light, color, and color key in
painting.
One of his primary concerns was the overall romantic
effects attained through light and color. Turner's later
works foreshadows the Impressionists that followed
him.
Describing
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Analyzing
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Critical Analysis
of painting by
Name
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Charles Burchfield
"September Wind and Rain"
(1949)
Date
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Class
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Interpreting
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Judging
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Charles Burchfield
(American, 1893-1967)
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Watercolorist Charles Ephraim Burchfield was one of
America's most original and visionary watercolor artists. Best
known for his romantic, often fantastic depictions of nature,
Burchfield developed a unique style of watercolor painting
that reflected distinctly American subjects and his profound
respect for nature and man's relation to reality as received
through all the senses.
Burchfield was born on April 9, 1893, in Ashtabula Harbor,
Ohio. Five years later, following the death of his father, his
family moved to Salem, Ohio, where he graduated from high
school as class valedictorian in 1911.
Mr. Burchfield attended the Cleveland School of Art and
studied with noted artists of the day.
Rex Brandt
(American, 1914-2000)
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"The Brothers Light"
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A gifted watercolorist, Rex Brandt hailed from San Diego,
California. A year before graduation from UC Berkley in
1936.
Brandt was part of a regional group of like-minded artists
enchanted with the unique light, color and landscape of
southern California.
Together in 1937 they formed a traveling group
exhibition called "The California Group." The group
introduced America to the exuberance, color and
creativity of this new rogue band of western watercolor
painters.
Among Brandt's friends in this "en plein air" group of
California painters were Milford Zornes, Phil Dike, and
Millard Sheets.
By 1937 Fortune magazine had featured a portfolio of his
work and his paintings were among those displayed at
the 1939 New York World's Fair "American Art Today" art
exhibition.
By 1949 Brandt had published his first book "Watercolor
with Rex Brandt." He authored many popular watercolor
painting and art books including Watercolor in 15 Easy
Lessons (1950), The Composition of Landscape Painting
(1959), Watercolor Landscape (1963), The Artists
Sketchbook and Its Many Uses (1966), San Diego, Land of
the Sundown Sea (1969), Winning Ways of Watercolor
(1973), and Seeing with a Painter's Eye (1984)
Rex Brandt was an avid teacher his entire life, his Brandt
Painting Workshops started in 1955 and he continued to
teach and lead workshops through 1985.
Paul Cézanne
(French, 1839-1906)
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“River with the Bridge of the Three Sources”
1906
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Mill at the River
1900–1906
Paul Cézanne was born on January 19, 1839, in Aix-enProvence, France. While in school, he had become an
intimate friend of fellow artist Emile Zola. After a failed
return to law school he spent the next twenty years
dividing his time between the Midi and Paris.
He briefly attended the Atelier Suisse with Camille
Pissarro. Cézanne also had long friendships with
painters Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir.
Cézanne's watercolor technique relied on subtle
overlapping washes incorporating the white of the
paper as in integral element in the piece.
His method of work was to apply his colors pure with
only the rare mixing on the palette preferring to allow
the layered color washes of subtly different hues to
merge into additional colors. Cézanne's use of direct
drawing in either charcoal or pencil often played a
major role in supporting the stylistic foundation of his
watercolor paintings.
"San Trovaso" (1974)
Mario Cooper
(Mexican/American, 1905-1995)
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Mario Cooper's painting style was based in playful design with a modern southwestern twist.
Born in Mexico City, he was raised in Los Angeles and ultimately studied at Columbia University and the Grand Central School of Art in
New York.
A highly regarded illustrator and fine artist, Mr. Cooper's illustrations appeared over the years in magazines like Collier's, Esquire, and
Cosmopolitan.
Although his sculpture and illustration skills were in high demand, he excelled in watercolor painting, composition and design. He was
president of the American Watercolor Society (AWS) from 1959 to 1986.
Mario Ruben Cooper was a member of the Society of Illustrators, the Allied Artists of America, the National Academy of Design, the
American Watercolor Society, and the Audubon Society.
"Venice Evening"
J.W.S. Cox
(American, 1911-1982)
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J.W.S. Cox is known for having first "invented" and explored the full possibilities of the wet-on-wet watercolor technique, the technique
of painting on water saturated paper.
Cox was born on May 18, 1911 in Yonkers, New York, the son of an architect and his wife. He grew up in Brunswick and Wallkill, New
York, and from an early age sketched landscapes. He graduated from Pratt Institute in New York City (1933), while working at various
jobs during the Great Depression.
From 1928-1936 Cox studied the works of El Greco for composition, Feininger for design, Turner for color and Cèzanne for style and
brushwork, John Marin for composition and color, Marsden Hartley for design, Whistler for technique and Charles Burchfield for style
and subject matter.
“Abstract Landscape”
1915
“House and Tree Forms”
1916
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“Trees #5”
1912 - 1915
“Sailboats and Roofs”
1918
Charles Demuth
(American, 1883-1935)
Coming from rather wealthy circumstances and suffering a delicate health and lameness, Charles Demuth grew up with a quiet interest in the arts.
After completing studies at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in 1910 he went on to study painting at several art academies in Paris.
Demuth experimented with the artistic influences of the day including cubism and expressionism. His most memorable personal style is at once intimate and
calculating with subtle shadings of color and form as in the watercolor Flowers, Cyclamen 1920.
Demuth used structured washes with controlled bleeds and blotting to intensify the color depth and texture while masterfully conserving the white of the
paper. Other phases of his work reflect influences of the art of his contemporaries, Charles Sheeler, Reginald Marsh, Cezanne, and John Marin.
“The Northeaster”
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Winslow Homer
(American, 1836-1910)
Born in Boston is 1836, Winslow Homer is one of the most notable figures in Civil War era American art.
Working as an apprentice to a local lithographer at age 19, and being entirely self-taught, Homer's drawings were in high demand in
leading periodicals of the day.
After the war Homer then devoted his talents to recording man in the natural beauty of the great outdoors.
His Maine seascapes, woodland scenes in the Adirondacks and watercolors of the Bahamas, brought him much acclaim as an
accomplished naturalist artist.
He died at Prout's Neck, Maine, September 29, 1910.
"The Mansard Roof" (1923)
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Edward Hopper (American, 1882-1967)
"'My aim in painting has always been the most exact transcription possible of my most intimate impressions of nature.'
Few artists have painted so honest and revealing a portrait of America as did Edward Hopper. His timeless images of the wayside night
cafe, the empty movie theatre, and the Victorian house by the railroad track all live in memory as the ultimate rendering of those
subjects.
Born in Nyack, New York, along the Hudson River, Hopper began to study art in the local schools before seeking instruction in
commercial art in New York City in l899.
From l900 to about l906 he studied at the New York School of Art under Robert Henri and Kenneth Hayes Miller, both of whom urged
their students to concentrate on modern subjects. Among his fellow students were George Bellows, Rockwell Kent, and Guy Pene du
Bois.
There is a frugality in Hopper's work, a careful selection of people, buildings and interiors, just as there was to the man himself. He
worked in the same studio on Washington Square for fifty-four years, rarely venturing out, except for summers in New England and an
occasional visit to the Southwest.
He died in his studio on May l5, l967."
"Albano, Italy" (ca. 1872)
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George Inness
(American, 1825-1894)
The 19th century landscape painter, George Inness, saw the artist's aim as "simply to reproduce in other minds the
impression which a scene had made upon him."
He was born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1825 and regardless of the virtual lack of support from his father and no formal
training, became a member of the National Academy of Art in 1868.
Inness traveled extensively during his life, and works from these trips included Yosemite and Monterey Peninsula paintings.
Innes focused on a light-infused tonalism and relied on glazes for his desired effects. He was a master of both watercolor and
oil painting.
Dong Kingman
(American, 1911-2000)
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"Four Men on a Bicycle"
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"Dong Kingman is recognized as one of the
premier watercolor masters in America and a
pioneer of the California school of painting.
Born in Oakland, California as Dong Moy Shu, Mr.
Kingman returned to Hong Kong with his family at
age five. There, at the Lingnan School, he studied
painting with a Paris-trained teacher.
When he returned to Oakland in 1929, he already
excelled at calligraphy and watercolor painting;
however, he enrolled at a local art school to
further his studies. A solo exhibition in San
Francisco in 1936 elevated him to national
recognition.
In the decades that followed, Mr. Kingman
became the recipient of every major award for
watercolors, including two Guggenheim
Fellowships (1942/1943), a Metropolitan Museum
of Art Award (1975) and the American Watercolor
Society's Dolphin Medal (1987).
Dong Kingman's work is represented in the
permanent collections of 50 museums and
universities, including the M.H. de Young
Memorial Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art,
Whitney Museum, Museum of Modern Art,
Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Hirshhorn Museum,
Art Institute of Chicago and Pennsylvania Academy
of Fine Arts."
Paul Klee
(Swiss, 1879-1940)
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German-Swiss artist Paul Klee brought his personal
expression about in the form of fantasy and
whimsy. His perception of the "modern" world was
rendered in brevity with a simplistic, primitive style
which he drew from children's and primitive art.
A member of the Blue Rider School, he believed in
the unity of nature and emotion and derided
illusionistic art. Using simple line and forms of men,
animals, and fantastic creatures, his gentle
commentary on human weakness and folly
exploited the symbols, signs and archaic patterns of
the collective unconscious.
Klee's works are replete with allusions to dreams,
music, and poetry, set in a gently playful style
sometimes reminiscent of the surrealists and cubist
who so influenced the times.
Klee taught at the Bauhaus from 1922-31 then at
the Düsseldorf academy from 1931-33 and irritated
the Nazi's so much they labeled his work
degenerate and made him resign.
"Southern (Tunisian) Gardens" (1919)
John Marin
(American, 1870-1953)
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"Marin Island"
(1914)
"John Marin was born in Rutherford, New
Jersey, and grew up in nearby Weehawken.
He attended the Pennsylvania Academy of
the Fine Arts, studying with Thomas
Anshutz, then studied at the Art Students
League in New York, and from 1905 to 1909,
studied in Europe.
In Paris, he associated with the Fauvist
circle. John Marin earned a reputation for
abstract watercolor paintings influenced by
Cubism and Futurism.
He was one of the Taos, New Mexico Colony
painters in the late 1920s, and his work is
credited as an important precedent to
Abstract Expressionism. Because he was so
respected nationally, his use of watercolor
in New Mexico set a precedent for others
painting there."
Georgia O'Keeffe
(American, 1887-1986)
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Born and raised in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, Georgia O'Keeffe
became one of the first American modernists, the first
woman to gain recognition for that style, and a signature
painter of Southwest landscape and structures.
She went to the Art Institute of Chicago in 1905-06 and
studied with John Vanderpoel. She then attended the Art
Students League in New York under William Merritt Chase,
Kenyon Cox, and F. Luis Mora. At this time in New York, she
first became aware of modernist art. Although O'Keeffe was
an award-winning artist at the League, she quit painting
from 1908 to 1912 to work as a commercial artist.
From 1916 to 1918, she headed the art department at West
Texas State Normal School in Canyon. In 1924, she began to
paint the botanicals, which became a signature part of her
work. In the 1920s, she also did a series of New York City
skyscraper scenes.
In 1929, she first went to the Southwest and visited each
summer until her husband died in 1946, when she became a
permanent resident. She settled in Albuquerque and
produced the landscape and architectural paintings for
which she is best known. Her style is austere as was her
lifestyle; she dressed simply and followed a regular routine
that nourished her creativity.
“Abstraction” (1917)
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"Bridge and Steps, Venice" (ca. 1911-12)
Maurice Prendergast
(American, 1859-1924)
Maurice Brazil Prendergast was born in Boston, and trained in
art as a painter of advertising placards in Boston and later in
France and Italy. He returned to Boston in 1900. Prendergast
was a member of The Eight, a group of artists led by Robert
Henri. The group had an influential exhibition in 1908; they
broke with the academic tradition that reigned at the time
and proposed that painting be connected to everyday life. In
1914 he moved to New York City, where he spent the
remainder of his life.
His work is characterized by rich, powerful color applied in
dots and in short brushstrokes. Many of his subjects are
landscapes with figures, as for example, Central Park (1901,
Whitney Museum, New York City). A number are of the
seashore. Others include Boston street scenes and sketches of
Neapolitan and Venetian life."
Millard Owen Sheets
(American, (1907 - 1989)
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"Balboa Evening"
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Millard Sheets grew up in California in the
Pomona Valley east of Los Angeles and by the
age of 19 he was an elected member of the
California Watercolor Society. At age 20, he
was still a student at the Chouinard Art
Institute when the school asked him to teach
their watercolor class while he was
completing his other studies.
By the 1930s Mr. Sheets was exhibiting and
selling work at major cities across the US. and
Europe. His sales enabled him to travel and
paint on location in the US and abroad. When
the Great Depression hit he worked for the
Public Works of Art Project (P.W.A.P.) hiring
artists to create public works of art.
In World War II Millard Sheets served as an
artist-correspondent in India and Burma and
by 1946 he was back home in the United
States as president of the California
Watercolor Society.
The early 1950s found Millard Sheets to be a
highly sought after architect and mosaic artist,
completing many large commissions and
designing scores of buildings in California.
By 1954 Mr. Sheets was the Director of the
Otis Art Institute where he directed the
structuring of the BA and MFA programs and
taught there until his departure in 1960. In
1997 the Otis College of Art and Design
renamed their library "The Millard Sheets
Library."
Millard Sheets was a major force in the
California Style watercolor movement of the
1930s and 1940s working in friendly
competition with other painters like Rex
Brandt and former student Milford Zornes.
Andrew Wyeth
(American, 1917-2009)
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"Nick and Jamie"
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A painter of landscape and figurative subjects in
Pennsylvania and Maine, Andrew Wyeth became one of
the best-known American painters of the 20th century.
His style is deceptively realistic with compositions based
on natural abstract elements in natural light. His richly
pigmented and direct, highly textured watercolors are
his playground for finding images that strike a resonance
within. In Wyeth's more formal egg tempera paintings
he can freeze crisp shards of daily rural life in time with
meticulous detail and technique.
He was born in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, and was
trained by his father, American illustrator and muralist
Newell Convers Wyeth. In 1937, Wyeth's first one-man
show of Maine watercolors sold out at the Macbeth
Gallery in New York. Andrew first spent his summers in
Port Clyde, Maine with his family, but after his marriage
to Betsy James in 1940, he and his wife went regularly
to Cushing.
From Pennsylvania to Maine, Wyeth formed close
friendships with, and painted, many of his cherished
neighbors. Wyeth became the first visual artist to be
nominated for the Presidential Medal of Freedom and in
1990, Wyeth was the first artist to receive the
Congressional Gold Medal.
Andrew and Betsy Wyeth had two sons, Nicholas and
Jamie Browning. Jamie is now a prominent American
artist, and Nicholas is in the field of aviation.
In 2009 at the age of 91 Andrew Wyeth died in his sleep.
Milford Zornes
(American, 1908-2008)
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Milford Zornes was born and raised in Oklahoma and he
finished high school in California. After spending a couple
years hitch-hiking across the USA he ended up studying art in
1927 at the Otis Art Institute. His watercolor instructor was
Millard Sheets, a gifted painter and teacher, who joined
Zornes as member of the "California Group."
Mr. Zornes started winning awards for his work by 1933 and
soon found himself working as a P.W.A.P. artist in the New
Deal, painting murals in government and public buildings. In
appreciation he was given a one man show in Washington,
D.C. where president Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) and his
wife picked a Zornes painting to hang in the White House.
He was drafted in 1943, and after serving as a traveling artist
in the U.S. Army in World War II, Mr. Zornes returned to
California to help lead the en plein air movement of the
"California Style" artists.
He worked alongside Millard Sheets, Rex Brandt, Pike Dike
and others depicting the brightly lit western landscape in a
direct, bold and colorful manner. Mr. Zornes was a passionate
and popular watercolor instructor and he traveled worldwide teaching watercolor painting workshops.
During his career he worked as a teacher at Otis, a theatre Art
Director in Claremont California, and a fine artist. In 1994 he
received the American Artist Achievement award from
American Artist magazine. Mr. Zornes continued painting and
giving watercolor workshops until his death at the age of 100.
Milford Zornes paintings can be found in many collections
and museums including the White House, the Library of
Congress Collection, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
"Beach Party"