Ogden Pleissner was a master of the watercolor medium. His paintings are luminous and expressive, yet also capture his subjects in wonderful detail. Pleissner had a gift for capturing fleeting moments of time—the tug on a fishing line or the pregnant pause as a hunter sets his sights. These reflective moments immerse viewers in the beauty of the land and convey the importance of protecting our natural environment.

Lying in Wait celebrates Ogden Pleissner’s life and work as a noted sporting arts painter. His hunting, fishing, and landscape paintings reflect his deep reverence for wildlife and the natural world. The forty-eight watercolors on view depict scenes from Wyoming to Maine to the South Carolina coast during his illustrious career that spanned from the late 1920s until his death in 1983.

Lying in Wait is organized by the Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, Vermont.

This exhibition is sponsored by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, South Carolina Arts Commission, The City of Charleston, Garden & Gun Magazine and Charleston Magazine.

Additional funding provided by Anonymous, Mr. and Mrs. Franklin Burke, Mr. and Mrs. Jocelyn Clark, Mr. and Mrs. Richard E. Coen, Copley Fine Art Auctions, Wendy and Tom McNeil, Gigi and Mike McShane, W. M. Means Company Insurance, Nina Rumbough and Jan Roosenburg, Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Seeger, Stony Point Foundation, Jane Smith Turner Foundation, and Nancy and John W. Webster.