Watercolors: A Concise History

World of Art

by Graham Reynolds

A survey of watercolor covers important movements and individual artists, including Durer, Blake, Turner, Homer, Cezanne, and Klee

Genres: Art, Art History

216 pages, Paperback

First published April 18, 1971

About the author

Arthur Graham Reynolds CVO OBE FBA (10 January 1914 – 13 October 2013) was an English art historian who was Keeper of Paintings at the Victoria and Albert Museum. He was a leading expert on portrait miniatures and the art of John Constable, for whose works he wrote the catalogue raisonné.

Reviews

[Caitlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A decent summary of artists who worked with watercolor from the 1700s to late 1900s and the cycle of watercolor being considered a sketching medium to fine art and back.

The book was exceptionally dry with simultaneously too much commentary and too many names/dates. The lack of colored images (although there were some) was disappointing. There was also no real analysis.

Not bad if looking for a summary of the medium + some artists to look up. Just make sure you have a decent amount of caffeine when you go in.

[Mark Sexton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent overview, but a bit slow through the classic years, before speedrunning the 20th century stuff.