Famous watercolor prints include romantic landscapes and abstract subjects.
Artists have been drawn to watercolor throughout time because of its luminosity created by the transparent, water-based pigments. From landscapes to abstract art, this medium lends romanticism to realistic and symbolic subjects, and thus leaves us with impressionable and famous watercolor prints by well-known artists to admire.
Paul Klee
Paul Klee ( 1879-1940) was a German-Swiss artist who used primitive lines and shapes reminiscent of child's play in his watercolor paintings. Klee belonged to a group of artists known as the Blue Rider School, most known for their belief in embodying nature and emotion with symbols and color. Perhaps a nod toward the surrealists and cubists of his time, Klee created "Southern (Tunisian) Gardens" in 1919, a watercolor print most distinct for its color and archaic symbols.
Winslow Homer
American artist Winslow Homer (1836-1910) began his career as an oil painter and commercial illustrator. Diverse with mediums as well as subject matters ranging from the Civil War to country life, Homer was self-taught and famous for his study of the outdoors and marine scenery. His naturalistic sensibilities with watercolor made works, such as "Incoming Tide, Scarboro Maine" (1883) and "Key West, Hauling Anchor," (1903) memorable.
J.M.W. Turner
Joseph Mallow William Turner was born to a modest London family in 1775. He is well-known for his pre-Impressionistic watercolor and oil landscapes inspired by travel and literature that earned him the reputation "painter of light." He attended the Royal Academy and founded his own gallery in 1804. Notable watercolor paintings include "San Giorgio Maggiore, Early Morning Watercolor" (1819) and "Dolbarden Castle Pencil and Watercolor" (1799).
Andrew Wyeth
Andrew Wyeth, born in Pennsylvania in 1917, was schooled in art by his father and by the age of 20, was already a well-established artist. His first show in 1937, under the bright lights of New York City, was a sell-out. Many illustrious exhibitions and distinctions followed. Wyeth's choice of medium varied from charcoal to watercolor and tempera. "The Road to Friendship" (1941) is an example of the watercolor landscapes that made him and his work famous.
