California is the place to be these next couple of weeks. The Muckenthaler Cultural Center Foundation offers a slice of NWS history with The National Watercolor Society Permanent Collection: Award Winners 1955-2006 (through Dec. 21)—the first time the permanent collection has been exhibited in such a display. The show includes photos of watercolors donated to the Los Angeles Museum of Art in 1955 and artwork unavailable for the exhibition, plus society ephemera, such as early catalogs and photos of members and presidents past.

Also in California, the City of Brea Art Gallery hosts the Watercolor West XL Exhibition (through Dec. 19), another must-see annual show.

Pictured: Summertime (1958; watercolor) by Louise Preeman