CINCINNATI, OHIO.- The Taft Museum of Art will present "To Observe and Imagine: British Drawings and Watercolors, 1600-1900," from May 15-August 15, 2004. To Observe and Imagine, a selection of 101 drawings and watercolors from the Morgan Library in New York City, ranges from works inspired by the imagination to those rooted in the careful observation of nature. The exhibition traces three centuries of artistic development in England. It includes diverse subject matter such as landscapes, portraits, street scenes, architecture, figure and nature studies, literary illustrations, and still lifes.

Beginning in the early seventeenth century with works by foreign-born artists working in England, the exhibition continues with works by such artists as Henry Fuseli (1741-1825) and William Blake (1757-1827), who were both attracted to the imaginary realm.

The exhibition then moves to the role that landscape played from about 1750 to 1850 in the works of Alexander Cozens (about 1717-1786) and his son, John Robert (1752-1797); Thomas Girtin (1775-1802); Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851); John Constable (1776-1837); and others. It concludes with works by Pre-Raphaelite artists including John Ruskin (1819-1900), Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882), and Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones (1833-1898).

The exhibition offers further exploration of works by British artists in the Taft Museum of Art’s permanent collection, including Turner, Constable, Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788), and Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792).

To Observe and Imagine: British Drawings and Watercolors, 1600-1900, is organized by the Morgan Library, New York. The curator in charge of the exhibition tour is Cara Dufour Denison, Curator, Drawings and Prints, the Morgan Library.

The Morgan Library enjoys the reputation of having one of the finest collections of works on paper in this country. Ranging from prepatory studies and sketches to finished works of art, the nearly fifteen thousand drawings, prints, and other works on paper in the collection span the fourteenth through twentieth centuries. Most major schools and periods are represented, although the collection is richest in European drawings executed before 1825. The holdings include works by Blake, Degas, Dürer, Matisse, Pontormo, Rubens, and Watteau. In addition to drawings, the Morgan has the largest and finest group of etchings by Rembrandt in this country.

To Observe and Imagine is sponsored by Cinergy Foundation and the Oliver Family Foundation. Fine Arts Fund partner is Procter & Gamble.