Louise Herreshoff Eaton To See Color First

Untitled watercolor
Untitled; c. 1922; watercolor on paper; 16 x 21/25 inches; Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Euchlin D. Reeves Collection in memory of Mrs. Chester Green Reeves and Miss Lizzie H. Dyer, UR1967.1.32

About The Exhibition

Staniar Gallery is pleased to introduce the exhibition To See Color First, the first comprehensive study of the watercolors of Louise Herreshoff Eaton, an artist who figures so prominently in Washington and Lee's permanent collection. Due to the coronavirus outbreak, it is impossible to display the artworks in the physical gallery space as planned. With the online exhibition (LINK HERE) and digital version of the exhibition catalogue, which you can access below, we are able to present a virtual experience of the Herreshoff project and provide an in-depth look at this remarkable artist. 

The paintings of Louise Herreshoff Eaton vibrate with color and brushwork emblematic of European Post-Impressionists and Fauves. Almost 200 of her portraits, landscapes and still life paintings are part of Washington and Lee's permanent art collection, a surprise find in a significant donation of ceramics that she and her husband, alumnus Euchlin Reeves '27, gave to the university in 1967. Co-curated by Patricia Hobbs, Senior Curator of Art for The Museums at Washington and Lee, and Tracy Bernabo, curator and registrar of Try-me Gallery (Richmond, VA), this exhibition highlights her bold and expressive watercolors in the first significant public display of Herreshoff's work outside of the University's Reeves Center since 1976.