When Three Artists Met by the Sea

A new exhibit in Washington shows major American artists in conversation with each other, by the water’s edge. Blue at Night, Adolph Gottlieb, 1957. (Troy Wilkinson. © 2026 Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY) Turn any article into a podcast. Upgrade now to start listening. Members can share articles with friends & family to bypass the paywall. Set aside the issue of water, and the desert and the ocean turn out to be awfully similar. The painter Adolph Gottlieb thought so, at least. He was a respected amateur boatsman in Gloucester, Massachusetts, where he often summered, and when in 1937 he and his wife settled in for a nine-month stint in Tucson, Arizona, he could only think back to those New England waters. Want to see more of The Dispatch in Google search? Add Us as a Preferred Source Suzanna Murawski is an assistant editor at Washington Post Opinions. More on Art