The fall exhibit in the Holmes Gallery of the Vero Beach Museum of Art in Florida is designed to showcase "The Wales Farm," the museum's newly acquired painting by Andrew Wyeth. The majority of the watercolors in the show were created by living artists such as Stephen Scott Young, Ray Ellis, Dean Mitchell, William Matthews, Kathy Caudill, Alan Shuptrine, Hubert Shuptrine, Duncan Simmons, Leslie Frontz and Thomas Owen.
While these masters of watercolor are great technicians, they embrace Wyeth's sentiment that "to be interested solely in technique would be a very superficial thing." Without exception, they express great feeling in their work while exploring the profound relationships between human beings and the world of the senses through their chosen medium.
According to J'Laine Newcome, registrar of the museum, no artist in the history of American art had more influence on the appreciation of watercolor than Wyeth. His ability to work with watercolor in a variety of ways -- from drybrush to layered washes -- and his flair for subtly dramatic composition gained new respect for watercolor as a serious medium. Every professional watercolorist working today owes Wyeth a debt, whether they were directly inspired by his masterworks or more generally by his larger-than-life presence in the art world.
"In the Tradition of Wyeth" will remain on display through Jan. 15.
The museum is at 3001 Riverside Park Drive in Vero Beach, Fla. Call 772-231-0707 for information.