Experts might continue to debate the exact role of watercolors in the development of a distinctive American artistic identity, but there is little doubt that the country has produced its share of masters of the medium.
Starting with the American Watercolor Movement, which lasted from about 1870 to 1885, and continuing until the rise of abstract expressionism after World War II, many of the country’s best artists made watercolors integral to their output.
Examples by some of those acclaimed practitioners, including Charles Burchfield, Charles Demuth and John Singer Sargent, are included in a small but potent exhibition continuing through April 25 in the University of Denver’s Myhren Gallery.
On view are 24 works from the Jan Perry Mayer Collection of Works on Paper chosen by Janie Askew, Kathryn Ninneman and Caitlyn Whaley, who are students in DU’s museum studies program.
Individual works are occasionally loaned for exhibitions across the country, but, for the most part, these pieces are rarely shown publicly.
Mayer and her husband, Frederick, who died in 2007, rank among the country’s pre-eminent museum benefactors and collectors of pre-Columbian and Spanish colonial art. In addition to gifts of some 1,800 works to the Denver Art Museum, they pledged $11 million in 2003 for an endowment supporting its New World department.
Aside from to the couple’s joint pursuit of pre-Columbian and Spanish colonial art, Mayer has built a significant American watercolor collection of her own, beginning in the early 1980s.
She is an avid amateur watercolorist, and six examples of her work (arguably too many in proportion to everything else on view) are included in the show: a landscape, a floral scene and four still-lifes.
For the most part, Mayer has focused her collecting on 20th-century watercolors, but there are a few examples from the late 19th century. Although all the selections in this show offer some take on realism, she has acquired abstract works as well.
The show is too small for any kind of comprehensive overview of American watercolors or grand art-historical statement. Instead, the three co-curators wisely stuck to assembling a simple, partial cross-section of the holding.
What makes this show especially appealing is the chance to see works by a number of artists who are almost never exhibited at the Denver Art Museum or anywhere else in the city. When, for example, was the last time a major work by Burchfield was shown here?
The quality of the works varies, with a mix of major and minor examples by the artists represented. Here is a look at five of the most compelling selections, any one of which might justify a visit to the show:
Charles Burchfield, “Tree Trunk” (ca. 1965), 38 1/2 by 32 inches. This vibrant, surprisingly large-scale watercolor is a quintessential example of the individualist artist’s style. It typifies his almost mystical devotion to nature, and the vibrating brush strokes relate to his desire to convey the mood and energy of the scene.
Reginald Marsh, “Untitled (Three Women)” (1946), 21 1/4 by 15 inches. A member of the Ashcan School, Marsh liked to depict the gritty, modern reality of American cities. In this study, he uses his characteristically loose, fluid style to depict three prositutes and convey a hint of the street.
John Singer Sargent, “The Great Fountain of Bologna” (circa 1906), 20 1/2 by 14 inches. Along with Winslow Homer, Sargent is one of the indisputed greats in American watercolors. This fine example, with its easy fluidity and subtle and sure-handed mix of colors, helps explains why.
James McNeill Whistler, “Blue and Silver — Afternoon, The Channel” (ca. 1885), 4 1/2 by 8 inches. This tiny stunner shows the power of understatement. Probably painted outdoors, the artist uses subtle, transparent washes and a minimum of detail to vividly convey the mood and feel of the scene.
Vance Kirkland, “Evans Ranch Landscape, No. 9” (1946), 25 1/4 by 38 1/3 inches. Some of Colorado’s most noted artists were able watercolorists, and several of their accomplishments in the medium are included in the show. One of the most memorable is this dark, brooding landscape with its circular composition.
Kyle MacMillan: 303-954-1675 or kmacmillan@denverpost.com
“MASTER WATERCOLORS FROM THE JAN PERRY MAYER COLLECTION OF WORKS ON PAPER.”
Art. University of Denver, Myhren Gallery, Shwayder Art Building, 2121 E. Asbury Ave. On view are 24 American watercolors, most from the 20th century. Featured artists include Milton Avery, Albert Bierstadt, Charles Burchfield, Reginald Marsh and James McNeill Whistler. Through April 25. Noon to 4 p.m. daily. Free. 303-871-3716 or
