American Landscapes in Watercolor from the Corcoran Collection

Winslow Homer, Hudson River, Logging, 1891-92, National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.

In the years following the US Declaration of Independence, artists and explorers used watercolor for mapping and documenting the landscape. By the 19th century, American painters began capturing their country in larger, more finished works that were considered fine art.

This exhibition explores how artists with different backgrounds and styles painted iconic American places in watercolour over two centuries. The visitor is invited to travel from the Washington Monument to the choppy ocean waters of New England, from the Grand Canyon to Yosemite National Park, from the Hudson River Valley to local gardens.  

American Landscapes features 30 works, most drawn from the National Gallery’s Corcoran Collection.