American Watercolours, 1880–1990: Into the Light

Watercolour has often seemed a sideshow in the story of modern American art – but the Harvard Art Museums makes the case that some of the most innovative works of American modernism were achieved in the medium (20 May–13 August). The show presents a range of experimental techniques and considers how moments of societal unrest inspired new approaches. Winslow Homer’s Returning Fishing Boats (1883), one of the earliest works here, harnesses the unique ability of watercolour to capture light; landscapes by John Singer Sargent and Edward Hopper make expressive use of a medium sometimes regarded as wishy-washy. There are also works by Helen Frankenthaler, Hannah Wilke, and Mark Rothko, whose Untitled (c. 1944), produced at a key moment in the artist’s career – just before he turned fully to abstraction. Find out more on the Harvard Art Museums’ website and read Elisa Germán, co-curator of the show, on the melancholic watercolours of Richard Foster-Yarde.

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Untitled (c. 1944), Mark Rothko. Harvard Art Museums. © Kate Rothko Prizel & Christopher Rothko/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Highland Light (1930), Edward Hopper. Courtesy Harvard Art Museums

Gardens at Florence (c. 1910), John Singer Sargent. Courtesy Harvard Art Museums