Museum of Fine Arts Houston Brings Winslow Homer Watercolors and American Modernism from the Charles Butt Collection to Houston

Of Light and Air: Winslow Homer, from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: The MFAH is the only travel venue for this acclaimed exhibition, which presents the largest collection anywhere of Homer’s watercolors

This fall, visitors to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston have a once-in-a generation opportunity to see the largest collection in the world of Homer’s watercolors, from the holdings of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Because of the works’ sensitivity to
light, they have not been displayed together in almost half a century.

The exhibition, Of Light and Air: Winslow Homer from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, is on view at the MFAH from through February 7, 2027.

Of Light and Air presents nearly 50 watercolors by the artist, alongside a selection of his oils, drawings, and prints. With material ranging from Homer’s childhood drawings to his final canvas, the exhibition follows the major chapters in his career and explores the various environments—ecological, artistic, social, and economic—that shaped his enduring work in watercolor. Homer’s watercolors transport visitors to the rugged Maine coast, New York’s Adirondack Mountains, the English seashore and the sunlit Caribbean.

“We are thrilled that our colleagues in Boston have consented to share with us their definitive collection of works by Winslow Homer,” commented Gary Tinterow, director and Margaret Alkek Williams chair of the MFAH. “As a quintessential New England artist, Homer—much like his exact contemporary Mark Twain—captured life in America as it transformed from an agrarian economy to an industrial powerhouse. Because Homer’s light-sensitive works on paper are normally kept in dark storage, this exhibition provides a once-in-a generation opportunity to see Homer’s vision of our country, made visible only in Houston on the occasion of the nation’s semiquincentennial.”

“This exhibition invites visitors to explore how Homer grew as a watercolor artist—and to see for themselves why he’s considered the greatest American watercolorist of the 19th century. His dazzling works burst with color and showcase
techniques that were bold, inventive, and ahead of their time,” said Dr. Kaylin H. Weber, The Lora Jean Kilroy Curator of American Painting and Sculpture.

American Modernism from the Charles Butt Collection opens at the MFAH

Texas philanthropist’s collection is shown to the public for the first time in this statewide touring exhibition, reflecting the multifold histories of American art

American Modernism from the Charles Butt Collection is the first exhibition organized from the collection of philanthropist and Texas native Charles Butt.

Featuring over 80 works of art by such icons as Stuart Davis, Georgia O’Keeffe, Jacob Lawrence, Thomas Hart Benton, Jackson Pollock, Joan Mitchell and Andrew Wyeth, as well as Texas artists like Everett Gee Jackson and Mary Bonner, the exhibition reflects and recontextualizes the multifold histories of American art by sharing Butt’s perspective on American creativity and presenting his collection to the public for the first time. The exhibition is on view through January 18, 2027.

“Charles Butt is widely known in Texas for his philanthropy and abiding commitment to education,” commented Gary Tinterow, director and Margaret Alkek Williams chair of the MFAH. “Less known, until now, is his discerning eye and passion for American art, as expressed by some of our most accomplished artists in the 20th century.”

Alison de Lima Greene, MFAH Isabel Brown Wilson Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, and co-curator of the Houston
presentation said that the Collection is imbued with a sense of adventure and sense of place. “More than a textbook survey of
American modernism, the Charles Butt Collection shows many of the artists at turning points in their careers, with signature works and intimate sketches that encompass a remarkable range of expression and achievement.”

The exhibition’s five thematic sections reflect Charles Butt’s lifelong passions.

The first is Intimate Perspectives, which highlights the vitality of human connections and personal experience. Secondly, The Language of the Sea presents the sea as a fundamental motif in the history of American art; it is also a major influence on Charles Butt’s collecting practice, following his childhood spent near the Gulf of Mexico in Corpus Christi, Texas. Next, Land Progressions explores how landscape shaped America’s response to modernism, and how artists subverted landscape conventions to chart more personal journeys. Geometric Utopias/Dystopias opens with a selection of urban and rural post-industrial scenes: factories, farms, and machinery, including works by Ralston Crawford, Stuart Davis, Jacob Lawrence, and Charles Sheeler, as well as Thomas Hart Benton, and his student Jackson Pollock. The exhibition concludes with New Directions, which introduces the nonobjective work of Ellsworth Kelly, Mark Rothko and Alma Thomas.

American Modernism from the Charles Butt Collection is organized by the Amon Carter Museum of American Art in Fort
Worth and includes a fully illustrated catalogue.

TICKET INFORMATION

FOR WINSLOW HOMER, visit here.

FOR AMERICAN MODERNISM, visit here.

FOR THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS HOUSTON, visit here.

Photos by V. Sweeten