Showcasing more than 170 works including masterpieces by William T. Richards, Thomas Moran, Edwin Austin Abbey, Thomas Eakins and George Inness, “American Watercolor in the Age of Homer and Sargent” is on view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art through May 14. Growing in popularity as a respected art form in 1866 after the establishment of the American Watercolor Society in New York, the popularity of watercolor as an artist’s medium rose rapidly, transcending its reputation as a pastime for genteel ladies and becoming a strong trend by the 1920s.

Curated by Kathleen A. Foster, the exhibition includes surprises such as works by Henrietta Benson Homer, who taught her son, artist Winslow Homer, to paint with watercolors; Currier & Ives lithograph designer Flora Bond Palmer; and nature studies by artist Fidelia Bridges. A fascinating section of the exhibition includes the historic, personal watercolor sets of artists including Homer, Eakins and Sargent, along with watercolor sketchbooks of artists including one that belonged to Boston art collector Isabella Steward Gardner.