The de Young is one of San Francisco’s most prestigious art museums, frequently showcasing world-class exhibitions along with its extensive permanent collections. The museum recently announced a major new watercolor exhibition for 2027, featuring works by painter Andrew Wyeth that have never been shown publicly.
Spectacular Freedom: Andrew Wyeth and the Modern American Watercolor
In February 2027, the de Young will open Spectacular Freedom: Andrew Wyeth and the Modern American Watercolor. Andrew Wyeth is a highly celebrated 20th-century American artist best known for his realist paintings. The new exbibition is the first to focus on his watercolor pieces, and will include some of his abstract paintings.
With almost 80 works, viewers can also expect to see paintings from Wyeth’s estate that have never been shown publicly. While Wyeth is well known, his watercolors are not his most famous works, and the exhibition offers a unique look at how the medium influenced his other paintings.
“This exhibition celebrates Andrew Wyeth’s achievements in watercolor and the medium’s immense capacity to convey sensory experience and showcase the artist’s technical skill,” said organizing curator Lauren Palmor, Curator of American Art at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. “By focusing on Wyeth’s mastery of the watercolor medium, Spectacular Freedom offers visitors new ways of connecting with his work. This medium-specific lens aids illuminates Wyeth’s technical achievements and his ability to capture the subtle nuances of time, memory, character, and place….”
Wyeth’s paintings were often created outdoors, as he studied familiar landscapes of Pennsylvania and Maine. The exhibition will debut in Cleveland before coming to San Francisco on February 13, 2027, and will run through July 18, 2027.