The art of watercolor has had a distinctive history in Britain since the latter part of the 18th century, when British artists first began to explore its particular aesthetic qualities. The V&A holds the UK’s national collection of watercolors, and this book showcases its breadth and diversity. Ranging from personal sketches inspired by nature to virtuoso exhibition pieces, and from colorful literary illustrations to imaginative expressions of a more private vision, British Watercolors includes works by all the leading exponents of watercolor, from J. R. Cozens and William Blake to J. M. W. Turner, David Cox, and Samuel Palmer. British Watercolours ends with examples from the first half of the 20th century, with Neo-Romantic artists such as Graham Sutherland.