Bermuda Landscape No. 2 1917

Charles Demuth made this watercolor, Bermuda Landscape No. 2, with a light touch, layering washes of color to create a dreamlike vision of the island. Although the materials may seem conventional, Demuth was pushing the boundaries of what watercolor could do. The fluidity of the medium allowed him to blend the natural and the architectural, with forms emerging and dissolving into one another. He was part of a generation of American artists who were looking to European modernism for inspiration, and who sought to make paintings that reflected the energy and dynamism of modern life. Unlike other artists, Demuth was more interested in creating an atmosphere. In this work, Demuth is not simply depicting a landscape, but also conveying a sense of the island’s unique atmosphere. In this way, Bermuda Landscape No. 2 blurs the lines between observation and imagination, inviting us to see the world in new and unexpected ways.