Winslow Homer, one of the foremost names in American art, occupies a special place in Carnegie Museum of Art's history.

His dramatic painting of a maritime disaster, "The Wreck," was exhibited in the First Annual Exhibition at Carnegie Institute, later to become the Carnegie International, in 1896. It was awarded the gold medal and a $5,000 prize, a significant sum in its time, and it was the first painting to be acquired for the museum collection.

Homer also created the first drawing to enter the collection, a somewhat casual charcoal grouping of "Figures on the Coast," of 1883. The ocean and persons intimately related to it was a subject for which the artist became as well known as he was for illustrations of the Civil War published in 19th-century periodicals.

"Figures" is among 75 works, including several by Homer, in the exhibition "Masters of American Drawings and Watercolors: Foundations of the Collection 1904-1922." ("The Wreck" may be seen in nearby Gallery 6.)

For the drawings show, Amanda Zehnder, Carnegie assistant curator of fine arts and exhibition curator, selected from almost 200 drawings and watercolors by American artists acquired during the tenure of the museum's first director, John W. Beatty. He left in 1922, and drawings did not receive special consideration again for nearly three decades.

Zehnder's presentation of these works makes her audience aware that the International, the undertaking so integral to the Carnegie's reputation, has a past as well as a much trumpeted present. For example, we learn that Homer exhibited 36 artworks in Internationals between 1896 and 1908, and that he was a juror in 1897 and 1901.

The show, in addition, offers a review of tastes that were locally prevalent when such large survey exhibitions were established (the Venice Biennale, the first such, was founded only the year before the International), in anticipation of the 55th International, which opens May 3.

Sharing the first gallery with Homer is Childe Hassam, an important American Impressionist who exhibited 90 paintings in various Internationals and is one of the most avant-garde artists in the exhibition. Among his works is a flag-draped Parisian street scene reminiscent of the New York City images with which he's often identified.

Other artists vary in prominence, and the works do not exhibit equal aesthetic finesse. Some, for example, were made as preparatory drawings or illustrations. But these, too, elucidate their period.

Included, for example, is a "Sketch of Ida Tarbell," the reform-minded journalist, by Cecilia Beaux, a previously underrated artist who has in post-feminist times gained deserved attention. Three illustrations by William James Glackens, published in Scribner's Magazine, are pungent examples of the urban realism practiced by members of the Ashcan School that he co-founded.

Ants in the landscape

Also at the Carnegie is "Quarta-Feira de Cinzas/Epilogue," a short -- and entrancing -- 2006 video that may have International ties and illustrates the distance art has traveled in a century and counting.

The 5³/₄-minute work, shown in the Forum Gallery where upcoming International artists are often featured, introduces to Pittsburgh Brazilian Rivane Neuenschwander, who has exhibited in major surveys such as the Havana and Venice biennials.

The beautifully filmed piece, which translates as "Ash Wednesday," follows ants carrying to their colony rounds of brightly colored (and sugar-soaked) confetti, left in the wake of the previous day's partying. A catchy soundtrack by experimental Brazilian group O Grivo mixes ambient rainforest sounds into an original composition.

The ants move from natural history subject to metaphor as thoughts range from watching ant trails as children to characteristics, such as "industrious," assigned them in literature and fable. Collaboration, one of the artist's interests, is an evident leitmotif. More surprising is the individuality these small creatures show, in body and in action.

This perfectly packaged, lilting interlude lingers on one's mind after the fact, raising questions of connectivity and design, and of the relationship of humans to the whole.

"Masters" continues through Oct. 7, "Rivane" through Oct. 28. Admission is $10, seniors $7, students/children $6. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. For information: 412-622-3131 or cmoa.org.

Winslow Homer film

Writer-producer-director Steven J. Ross will introduce the film "Winslow Homer: Society and Solitude" at 3 p.m. Sunday in the Carnegie Museum of Art Theater. A $12 ($10 members) admission includes post-film reception with Ross and access to "Masters of American Drawings and Watercolors" until 7 p.m.

Muniain film

A free, public screening of "An Independent Portrait," director Jose Muniain's documentary of artist Felix de la Concha creating a portrait of filmmaker Robert M. Young, will be given at 8:30 p.m. tomorrow in the Frick Fine Arts Auditorium, University of Pittsburgh, Oakland. (412-648-2400).

Lepper lecture

Mona Hatoum will deliver the 2007 Robert Lepper Distinguished Lecture in Creative Enquiry at 7 p.m. Friday in McConomy Auditorium, CMU. Free. Information: 412-268-2409