Collections: American Art: Tree - Yosemite

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Tree - Yosemite

William Zorach developed his modernist approach after studying at the progressive Paris art school La Palette. Typical of the work in watercolor that he pursued throughout his career—even after he abandoned oil painting for sculpture in 1922—this magical image was based on a five-month sojourn in Yosemite. Exploiting liquid watercolor washes to create soft-edged forms in gem-like colors, Zorach conveyed the transcendent quality he experienced in that landscape, which he described as “the garden of Eden.”


• Artist: William Zorach, American, 1887-1966
• Medium: Watercolor over graphite on white, moderately thick, moderately to rough textured wove paper mounted to woodpulp board
• Dates: 1920
• Dimensions: Paper: 15 1/4 x 13 1/8 in. (38.7 x 33.3 cm) Board: 19 15/16 x 18 1/16 x 1/8 in. (50.6 x 45.9 x 0.3 cm) Frame: 29 7/8 x 23 15/16 x 1 1/2 in. (75.9 x 60.8 x 3.8 cm)
• Signature: Lower left: "Zorach -- 1920 --"
• Collections: American Art
• Museum Location: This item is not on view
• Accession Number: 45.123
• Credit Line: Gift of Ettie Stettheimer
• Image: Overall, 45.123_PS2.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2005
William Zorach (American, 1887-1966). Tree - Yosemite, 1920. Watercolor over graphite on white, moderately thick, moderately to rough textured wove paper mounted to woodpulp board, Paper: 15 1/4 x 13 1/8 in. (38.7 x 33.3 cm) Board: 19 15/16 x 18 1/16 x 1/8 in. (50.6 x 45.9 x 0.3 cm) Frame: 29 7/8 x 23 15/16 x 1 1/2 in. (75.9 x 60.8 x 3.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Ettie Stettheimer, 45.123 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 45.123_PS2.jpg)