Volumes will continue to be written about the great creative flowering of the English landscape watercolor in the decades 1780-1820. Some phenomena cannot be explained simply; basically, the time and place were right. Here is my own 100-word history -- in recipe form:

Start with the influences of Italian idealized landscape and Dutch naturalism. Blend thoroughly with the humble art of the British topographical painter (the sort of artist-servant who produced fairly accurate "snapshots" on demand for wealthy patrons). Stir in increased availability of high-quality pigments and new papers. Season strongly with current cultural phenomena -- the growing reverence for (and delight in) nature, the individual, and personal expression. Add the yen to travel and improved methods of transportation. Cook over high heat of social, political, and industrial change -- for about a generation -- until the mixture explodes. And voila! You have a national mania topped with a rich sauce of genius.

According to art historian David Blayney Brown, British watercolorists were among the most advanced and original European artists of the early nineteenth century, renowned for their innovative techniques and expressive powers: "there was indeed nothing across the channel to compare with the British watercolorists in boldness of conception, freedom of execution, and frank celebration of the qualities inherent in the medium itself." John Constable said it another way: "Painting is but another word for feeling."

In their best work, the great exponents of watercolor in Britain produced some of the most beautiful images of their time, and in some cases, of all time. Among these great achievements are the rhapsodic luminosity of J. M.W. Turner, the haunting melancholy of John Robert Cozens, the rich painterliness of Thomas Girtin, the dazzlingly spontaneity of Richard Parkes Bonington, the formal perfection of John Sell Cotman, the breezy freedom of David Cox, the broad calm of Peter DeWint, the classicism of John Varley, and the careful observation of William Henry Hunt. Turner's work has influenced generations of artists: Bonington bewitched Delacroix; Cox made an impression on the Impressionists; and Hunt, thanks to the championing of John Ruskin, influenced artists in England and America throughout the later nineteenth century. Forgotten in their own day, Cotman's extraordinarily "modern" designs had a striking influence in the twentieth century. And these are only a few, not to mention the singular achievements of artists like John Constable, William Blake, and Samuel Palmer and thousands of others who made contributions, as well.