PHILADELPHIA, PA.- Woodmere Art Museum’s exhibition, The Weight of Watercolor: The Art of Eileen Goodman explores the remarkable career of one of Philadelphia's most respected watercolorists and realist painters. The exhibition will include work spanning five decades of the artist’s career, from her early figurative compositions in oil to her recent five-foot watercolors.

Goodman’s watercolors display an unexpected depth of tonality, precision of texture, and richness of color saturation. The range of works on view will demonstrate how her mastery of watercolor, as shaped by both her formal training and her independent experimentation in various media. Often described as a “painterly painter,” Goodman is most inspired by the perfection of nature.

Born in New Jersey, Goodman attended the Philadelphia Museum School of Art (now the University of the Arts), where she studied illustration with Jacob Landau and painting with Morris Berd and Larry Day. She then served as member of the faculty at the University of the Arts for several decades. Her exploration of subjects ranging from the most sensuous of fruits to the most decadent of cupcakes has helped shape Philadelphia's long tradition of still life painting. Rachel McCay, Assistant Curator at Woodmere said, “Goodman is one of the most accomplished artists working in watercolor in Philadelphia. She continues to redefine the medium through her ability to work at such a large scale and to create dramatic compositions that display her careful examination of the subtleties of light.”

The exhibition is accompanied by the only major publication on Goodman’s career and body of work. The fully illustrated catalogue features a critical discussion of the artist’s practice by Goodman, artist Jan Baltzell, assistant curator Rachel McCay, artist Peter Paone, and the Patricia Van Burgh Allison Director and CEO of Woodmere Art Museum William R. Valerio as well as a detailed artist chronology.