Mired in the past?

摘要

At the British Royal Watercolour Society's spring exhibition in 1993, one watercolour attracted particular attention: a pleasant view of alpine ski slopes at Klosters. It happened to be painted by Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, who took art lessons from, among others, John Ward, a member of the Royal Academy. The work was competent but, in the view of Chris Beetles, a passionate collector and dealer in London, such "gifted amateurs" have done more harm than good to watercolour as a serious art form. Why? Because watercolour in Britain tends to model itself, year in year out, on the work of celebrated British artists of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The two watercolour societies which dominate the medium in Britain have been "hijacked by elderly professionals who tend to elect clones of themselves," says Mr Beetles. "For half of what you see, it looks as if the clock stopped in 1880," says Frank Whitford, an art critic for the Sunday Times.