Eliot O'Hara (June 14, 1890 – July 30, 1969) was an American artist and educator known for his masterful watercolors, especially his impressionistic landscapes.

[6] He remained an avid traveler and plein air painter throughout his life, locations for his paintings include Peru, Australia, Japan, China, Indonesia, and Thailand.

[7] In 1931, he opened the Eliot O'Hara School for Watercolor Painting in Goose Rocks Beach, Maine.

These later restrained and abstracted landscapes, of surprising simplicity, evoke a calm, profound power that "stand with the finest of American watercolors[6]".

[6] O'Hara taught watercolor painting at his school in Maine and at classes sponsored by universities, museums and art associations around the United States.

His student, Carl Schmalz, attempted to capture the organization and content of his classroom teaching in the book "Water Color Lessons from Eliot O'Hara".

[6] In addition to his classroom teaching, O'Hara wrote books on watercolor painting and made art education films.

His notable students include Carl Schmalz, George Campbell Tinning, Elsie Lower Pomeroy, Standish Backus, and Marvin Mangus .