Watercolor Collection

RAM has a long history—dating back to the early 1940s—of collecting watercolors by Wisconsin artists. This focus was inaugurated in 1943 with nearly 50 paintings on paper by contemporary artists working in the Wisconsin Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), during the Great Depression of the 1930s. The museum made an even greater commitment to this medium with the establishment of its annual Watercolor Wisconsin competition in 1966. The exhibition was organized by the museum, working with the Junior League of Racine, as the first show held in the new education wing at RAM’s Charles A. Wustum Museum of Fine Arts campus. This show was the museum’s response to the intense interest in watercolor among Wisconsin artists and the public.

From 1966 to the present, RAM has enhanced its watercolor collection through purchase awards and gifts from donors, constructing a documentation of how state artists have approached this medium for over 50 years. While some contemporary artists push the boundaries in form or content––or both––others embrace a more traditional approach. Both directions are highlighted in the annual exhibition and the works in the permanent collection.

This year, RAM will add four new works to the museum’s watercolor holdings, which now number over 600 pieces, dating from the 1900s to 2020. The fact that all four works were created by women underscores RAM’s long-term commitment to female artists. By current count, 43% of the artists in RAM’s collection are women. This percentage—which is consistently increasing—is already substantially greater than the ratios calculated at other organizations with permanent collections and active exhibition programs.