Muddy Alligators, by John Singer Sargent. (Courtesy of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.)

Sargent (1856-1925), whose star was rising just as Homer’s was fading, reflects a more luxuriant lifestyle. His ships are sun-drenched yachts and Venetian gondolas. The images of this affluent Italian-born American have a romantic, grandiose elegance. One imagines that when he didn’t have a brush in hand, he held a Champagne flute.

While the exhibition begs the questions as to whether Homer or Sargent was the better artist, I have no doubts. It was Sargent. (Sorry, I’m not open to debate.) His paintings not only capture light, they radiate it. Working in Paris and Venice as well as in the U.S., Sargent appears to have been more influenced by European Impressionism than Homer was.  This is most apparent in Sargent’s Group (Siesta in a Swiss Wood). The brushstrokes are dappled, taking cues from Seurat and Van Gogh.

Haskells House, by Edward Hopper. (Courtesy of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.)

Besides the usual suspects, the exhibition includes cameos by Man Ray, Edward Hopper. and Charles Demuth. However, the real surprises are the watercolors created at the cusp of Modernity, foreshadowing all that was to come.

American Watercolor in the Age of Homer and Sargent is at the Philadelphia Museum of Art through May 14, 2017.

IF YOU GO

Don’t miss Phulkari: The Embroidered Textiles of Punjab, March 12 – July 9, 2017. This vibrant tradition, shaped by women and passed down through generations, has become a powerful symbol of Punjabi cultural identity. These works span a period from the mid-nineteenth century until the Partition of India in 1947, along with contemporary fashions reflecting the Punjab textile tradition.

Note: The 150th Anniversary Exhibition of the American Watercolor Society opens April 3 at the Salamagundi Club in New York City and runs through April 22. The galleries are open every day from 1 to 5 p.m.