The heyday of watercolor painting in Europe occurred at the turn of the 18th–19th centuries. Watercolor painting was especially popular in Great Britain, where the Watercolor Society was created in 1804. By the way, in English “watercolor” is water colors, water paints. It was in England that the basic techniques of European watercolor painting were developed.

Among the most famous European watercolorists are Thomas Guertin, Joseph Turner, Paul Delaroche, Eugene Delacroix, the Austrians Rudolf von Alt, Karl Schindler, Thomas Ender. In the USA, watercolor was glorified by William Trost Richards, Thomas Moran, and Winslow Homer.