Must See: John Singer Sargent Watercolors at Brooklyn Museum

Run, don't walk, to this exhibition at the charming Brooklyn Museum through July 28th. It is a complete delight for the eye and a wonderful master class in the art of watercolor. Essentially all of the works are from the later part of Sargent's career, after 1900. They are loose and expressive pieces from the hands of someone at the top of his game.

The exhibition is just the right size and all of it should be savored.

I confess to not always connecting with watercolors. The more rational me knows that it is a lot easier to travel with watercolors than with oil paints, but I have always resisted making the shift from oil to water based media as I packed my suitcase. Yes, with oils, there is the schlepping of lots of painting equipment, the worries about what to do with wet canvases, the mess one is likely to make where one is working; but I love the look and feel and smell of oil paints. Watercolor has always seemed just a tad too wimpy. Well, that idea got dismissed today. Nothing wimpy about the watercolors by Sargent on view.