Landscape AC 1952.20
Alexander Helwig Wyant, American, 1836-1892
Watercolor
Gift of William Macbeth, Inc.
In Landscape, Wyant explores Tonalism, a style of American painting popular from about 1880 to 1920 in which artists sought to convey the mood of the landscape rather than its mere appearance. The limited palette and simple composition suggest this is one of Wyant’s later works, informed by an 1873 stroke that left his right arm and hand paralyzed. Painting with his left arm, the artist’s work became smaller and less detailed.
Here, Wyant dragged relatively dry watercolors across the sheet, then blotted and sanded the paper, allowing its white surface to be seen through the wash, thereby creating the luminous sky. While the mood of the picture is somber, the light on the horizon suggests sunrise and may reflect Wyant’s optimism throughout his crippling illness. The holes along the edges of the sheet may have been made by a clamp-like holder used to keep the damp paper flat while painting.
AC 1952.20