: Exquisite draftsmanship and masterful watercolors by British
artists spanning three centuries of artistic development in
England are at the heart of an exhibition that recently launched
the reopening of the Taft Museum of Art. The event follows a
major 21/2-year renovation and expansion effort.
"To Observe and Imagine: British Drawings and Watercolors,
1600-1900," a collection of 101 drawings and watercolors from the
Morgan Library in New York City, ranges from works inspired by
imagination and nature, including landscapes, portraits, figure
studies, architecture, literary illustrations and still life.
Fifty-three artists are represented.
Beginning in the early Seventeenth Century, the exhibition opens
with foreign-born artists, such Sir Peter Lely (Dutch, 1618-1680)
and Wencelaus Hollar (Bohemian, 1607-1677). Hollar dominated the
art scene in England with his influence on native artists and the
emergence of a distinctive English style. Among the drawings
featured are Hollar's pen and ink "Large View of Passau" and
Lely's sensitive chalk rendering, "Portrait of a Lady."
