Drip, Splatter, Wash: American Watercolor, 1860–1960

A lone sailor in a small boat, a bustling Italian flower market and Kansas City’s Argentine neighborhood after the Great Flood of 1951 are among the subjects that have been represented by American artists in watercolor. Not only diverse in subject, paintings in watercolor can be intimate or expansive and showcase an array of techniques. Watercolor is a medium with the capacity to be fluid or precise, translucent or opaque. In this exhibition, artists working in watercolor between 1860 and 1960 explore the nuances of their materials, the depths of themselves, and the sweep of the globe.

This exhibition features 29 exceptional works from permanent collection of The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in the American galleries. Pieces showcasing important moments in the history of American watercolor, in Gallery 214, are complemented by watercolors paired with paintings, sculptures and decorative arts objects in the surrounding galleries.