American Watercolor Society exhibit comes to Bradenton

Only six venues in all of the United States are hosting the 149th annual Traveling Exhibition of the American Watercolor Society International Exhibition. One of those six is right here in Bradenton.

ArtCenter Manatee is the only space in Florida that will host the exhibition. It opened Tuesday and will stay up for a full month.

This year’s exhibition features the work of 40 preeminent water media artists from around the world.

That’s a lot of watercolor artists being shown in own place, but there’s more. At the same time as the American Watercolor Society show, ArtCenter Manatee will host the Florida Suncoast Watercolor Society’s Aqueous Show.

Both shows are open to the public, and you’re welcome to stop in a browse on your own for a $5 admission fee. But for $10, you can have a decent-guided your that will tell you more about the artists and their artwork. You should call ahead to find out what time the tours start.

The American Watercolor Society is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1866 to promote the art of watercolor painting in America. The annual traveling exhibitions started soon after. A lot of prominent artists of the past and present have been members, including Edwin Austin Abbey, Morris Graves, Childe Hassam, Winslow Homer, Ted Dautzkey, John La Farge, Mario Cooper, Sir William Russell Flint, Chen Chi, Dong Kingman and Andrew Wyeth.

Details: Jan. 24-Feb, 24, ArtCenter Manatee 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday, Friday-Saturday; 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Thursday-Wednesday Saturday. Closed Sunday. $5. 941-746-2862, artcentermanatee.org.

This story was originally published January 25, 2017 at 5:16 PM with the headline "American Watercolor Society exhibit comes to Bradenton."