Seventy-two drawings and watercolors date between 1800 and 1900. In 1987, Frederick Leach bequeathed funds for the acquisitions of watercolors. Rather than span all geographic regions and periods, the museum decided to collect British watercolors from the latter part of the 18th century through the early 20th, a period during which watercolor found its widest audience and most famous practitioners. Once the Leach funds were exhausted, other generous benefactors have made continued growth in this area possible. The collection now includes excellent examples by such 19th-century artists as Edward Lear, Daniel Maclise, John White Abbott, Alfred William Hunt, Francis Danby, William Morris, Owen Jones, David Cox, Marie Stillman, Walter Crane, and Helen Allingham. These works include preparatory studies for larger designs, landscapes executed on site, and large, highly finished works intended for exhibition in the watercolor salons of their day. In addition to the watercolors by British artists, the collection also includes twenty-three American drawings, five French, three Italian, and two by Dutch artists. Most notable among the Americans works are those by William Merrit Chase and Elihu Vedder.

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