CLARKSVILLE, TN – Through January 2, 2024, the Customs House Museum & Cultural Center will display artwork from one of the oldest and most prestigious art societies in the world. Since 1866, the American Watercolor Society (AWS) has worked to advance education and foster the appreciation of watercolor painting in America. Their annual exhibition is open to all artists working in water soluble media: watercolor, acrylic, casein, gouache and egg tempera on paper.
Election to this Society as a Signature Member is one of the most sought-after honors in the painting world. AWS membership comprises many of the greatest names in painting throughout the Society’s history and includes (to name drop a few) the American impressionist Childe Hassam, regionalists Edward Hopper and Charles Burchfield, plus virtually every member of the important “California School” of watercolorists, and everyone in between, up to and including the late Andrew Wyeth.
“We stand a far distance from December 5, 1866, the Society’s founding day,” said Antonio Masi, AWS President and himself an internationally celebrated artist. “And we know that the passage of time has validated our founders’ work and values.”
More than 1,100 artists from throughout the United States and 32 foreign countries submit their work to a panel of jurors chosen from Signature Members of the AWS. Of these submissions, 140 paintings were selected for the exhibition. Forty paintings from the show were selected during the Jury of Awards for the Traveling Exhibition, which have been touring museums and galleries across the country.
While inclusion in this exhibition is itself an honor, participants also compete for the Gold, Silver and Bronze Medals of Honor, and 26 other awards and medals totaling nearly $45,000 in prize money.
The American Watercolor Society 156th Traveling Exhibition is on view through January 2 in the Kimbrough Gallery at the Customs House Museum & Cultural Center.