By Deborah Freeland

America’s contribution to the international watercolor tradition is second to none. Although the British dominated that tradition in the past, American artists have produced indigenous themes in watercolor with unparalleled mastery.

The earliest watercolor drawings produced in America were created as illustrations of the "new world." Artists traveled with explorers to document their discoveries for Europe. Some of the most accurate depictions of American flora and fauna were painted by Mark Catesby (1679-1749). He came to Virginia in 1712 and documented hundreds of species of American birds and plant life with hand-colored engravings. Catesby’s prints began a tradition of romantic depictions of American wildlife. John James Audubon (1785-1851) created realistic watercolor renderings of birds and other animals. Audubon did his first study in 1805 and continued to devote himself to recording this aspect of the North American continent.

In the early nineteenth century Americans like George Catlin and Jacob Miller documented the vanishing life of the Plains Indians as America expanded to the west. A parallel development was the growth of the colors-manufacturing industry in America. These paints had formerly been an expensive import. Colors produced domestically made painting supplies more accessible and affordable. The first watercolors manufactured in the U.S.A. were sold in dry square cakes as early as1820.

American artists worked in the shadow of European masters, especially the British until the late nineteenth century. Skilled and talented artists like Thomas Eakins(1844-1916), Winslow Homer (1836-1910) and James Whistler (1834-1903) began to develop a new and original style free of rigid English traditions. The rise of American watercolor coincides with the international rise and recognition of American painting.